Background: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether or not the complement system is systemically activated and to specify the clinical and prognostic implications of its components during hepatitis B virus related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF). Methods: Blood samples were taken from twenty-seven patients diagnosed with HBV-ACLF, twenty-five patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B but without liver failure (CHB), and nine healthy volunteers (the control group). Plasma complement components were measured with Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Correlative analysis were assessed between the levels of complement components and the liver failure related index. Results: The concentrations of C3 was 6568 μg/ml in the HBV-ACLF group, 8916 μg/ml in the CHB group and 15,653 μg/ml in the control group, respectively (P < 0.05). The concentrations of C3a was 852 ng/ml in the HBV-ACLF group, 1008 ng/ml in the CHB group and 1755 ng/ml in the control group, respectively (P < 0.05). The concentrations of C1q was 50,509 ng/ml in the HBV-ACLF group, 114,640 ng/ml in the CHB group and 177,001 ng/ml in the control group, respectively (P < 0.05). The concentrations of C1q, C3, C3a, C4, C4a and sC5b-9 were significantly higher in the control group than those in the HBV-ACLF group (3.5, 2.4, 2.1, 1.4, 1.3 and 6.0 fold, respectively). However, there was no statistical significance of the differences in the plasma concentrations of mannose binding lectin and factor B between the HBV-ACLF group and control group. The levels of C3 and C3a were inversely correlated with MELDs or CLIF-C OFs (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our analysis demonstrated that the activation of the classical pathway mediated by C1q may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HBV-ACLF. Furthermore, the plasma levels of C3 and C3a may be potential novel biomarkers in predicting the outcome of HBV-ACLF.
CITATION STYLE
Li, Q., Lu, Q., Zhu, M. Q., Huang, C., Yu, K. K., Huang, Y. X., … Zheng, J. M. (2020). Lower level of complement component C3 and C3a in the plasma means poor outcome in the patients with hepatitis B virus related acute-on-chronic liver failure\. BMC Gastroenterology, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12876-020-01258-3
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