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A novel serum marker, glycosylated Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein (WFA+-M2BP), for assessing liver fibrosis

  • Original Article—Liver, Pancreas, and Biliary Tract
  • Published:
Journal of Gastroenterology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Recently, a novel marker, hyperglycosylated Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein (WFA+-M2BP), was developed for liver fibrosis using the glycan “sugar chain”-based immunoassay; however, the feasibility of WFA+-M2BP for assessing liver fibrosis has not been proven with clinical samples of hepatitis.

Methods

Serum WFA+-M2BP values were evaluated in 200 patients with chronic liver disease who underwent histological examination of liver fibrosis. The diagnostic accuracy of WFA+-M2BP values was compared with various fibrosis markers, such as ultrasound based-virtual touch tissue quantification (VTTQ), magnetic resonance imaging based-liver-to-major psoas muscle intensity ratio (LMR), and serum markers, including hyaluronic acid, type 4 collagen, and aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI).

Results

Serum WFA+-M2BP levels in patients with fibrosis grades F0, F1, F2, F3, and F4 had cutoff indices 1.62, 1.82, 3.02, 3.32, and 3.67, respectively, and there were significant differences between fibrosis stages F1 and F2, and between F2 and F3 (P < 0.01). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the diagnosis of fibrosis (F ≥ 3) using serum WFA+-M2BP values (0.812) was almost comparable to that using VTTQ examination (0.814), but was superior to the other surrogate markers, including LMR index (0.766), APRI (0.694), hyaluronic acid (0.683), and type 4 collagen (0.625) (P < 0.01 each).

Conclusions

Serum WFA+-M2BP values based on a glycan-based immunoassay is an accurate, reliable, and reproducible method for the assessment of liver fibrosis. This approach could be clinically feasible for evaluation of beneficial therapy through the quantification of liver fibrosis in hepatitis patients if this measurement application is commercially realized.

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Abbreviations

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

APRI:

Aspartate transaminase-to-platelet ratio index

ARFI:

Acoustic radiation force impulse

AST:

Aspartate aminotransferase

COI:

Cutoff index

Gd-EOB-DTPA:

Gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid

HBsAg:

Hepatitis B virus surface antigen

HBV:

Hepatitis B virus

HCV:

Hepatitis C virus

HCVAb:

Hepatitis C virus antibody

LMR:

Liver-to-major psoas muscle intensity ratio

m/s:

Meters per second

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

NPV:

Negative predictive value

nonBnonC:

Negative for hepatitis B virus surface antigen and hepatitis C virus antibody

PBC:

Primary biliary cirrhosis

PPV:

Positive predictive value

ROC:

Receiver operating characteristic

VTTQ:

Virtual Touch™ Tissue Quantification

WFA+-M2BP:

Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan (H23-kannen-011). This research was performed by the Hepatitis Glyco-biomarker Study Group.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest and have no financial interests linked to this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan

    Takeo Toshima, Ken Shirabe, Toru Ikegami, Tomoharu Yoshizumi & Yoshihiko Maehara

  2. Research Center for Medical Glycoscience (RCMG), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, 305-8568, Japan

    Atsushi Kuno, Akira Togayachi, Masanori Gotoh & Hisashi Narimatsu

  3. The Research Center for Hepatitis and Immunology, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Ichikawa, 272-8516, Japan

    Masaaki Korenaga & Masashi Mizokami

  4. Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan

    Akihito Nishie

  5. Department of Anatomic Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan

    Shinichi Aishima

Authors
  1. Takeo Toshima
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  2. Ken Shirabe
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  3. Toru Ikegami
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  4. Tomoharu Yoshizumi
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  11. Akihito Nishie
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ken Shirabe.

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Toshima, T., Shirabe, K., Ikegami, T. et al. A novel serum marker, glycosylated Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein (WFA+-M2BP), for assessing liver fibrosis. J Gastroenterol 50, 76–84 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-014-0946-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-014-0946-y

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