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Utility of Hepatocyte Growth Factor as a Biomarker for Early Diagnosis of Pulmonary Artery Hypertension

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Abstract

Objective

The goal of this study was to determine plasma levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in patients with pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH), and to explore the diagnostic value of plasma HGF for PAH.

Methods

Sixty subjects were divided into a control group of healthy individuals (N = 15) and a PAH group (N = 45). The PAH group was divided into three groups (N = 15 each) according to disease severity: mild PAH (group L), moderate PAH (group M), and severe PAH (group H). Plasma HGF levels in PAH patients were collected on the morning after admission to the hospital. Mean pulmonary arterial pressure was measured by right heart catheterization.

Results

Plasma HGF levels were significantly higher in the PAH group than in the control group (P < 0.001), and significantly higher in group H than in group M (P < 0.001) and group L (P < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in plasma HGF levels between patients with PAH of idiopathic etiology and those with PAH of secondary etiology (P = 0.595). The HGF level was positively correlated with mean pulmonary arterial pressure (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.967, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Plasma levels of HGF in PAH patients with mild disease were significantly higher than those in healthy controls, suggesting that plasma HGF has potential utility as a diagnostic biomarker for early PAH.

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Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China

      Mingting Liang

    2. Department of Cardiology, Liaocheng City People’s Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong, China

      Mingting Liang & Ying Pang

    3. Department of Laboratory, Liaocheng City People’s Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong, China

      Shuguang Zhang

    4. Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China

      Mei Zhang

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    1. Mingting Liang
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    2. Ying Pang
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    Correspondence to Mei Zhang.

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    Conflict of interest

    Mingting Liang, Ying Pang, Shuguang Zhang, and Mei Zhang declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

    Funding

    The authors have no funding to declare.

    Ethical approval and informed consent

    All patients provided informed consent, and the studies were approved by the local ethics committee at Liaocheng City People’s Hospital.

    Additional information

    M. Liang and Y. Pang contributed equally to this work and should be considered as co-first authors.

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    Liang, M., Pang, Y., Zhang, S. et al. Utility of Hepatocyte Growth Factor as a Biomarker for Early Diagnosis of Pulmonary Artery Hypertension. Mol Diagn Ther 20, 463–468 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40291-016-0214-3

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40291-016-0214-3

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