The relationship between circulating stem cells and stromal cell derived factor-1 with disease severity in patients with liver cirrhosis

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Stem cells have the ability to regenerate and transform into different cells. The chemokine stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) plays an important role in hematopoietic stem cell mobilization, implantation, survival, and proliferation. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the number of stem cells in the blood and the blood concentration of stromal cell-derived factor 1 with disease severity in cirrhotic patients. Methods 15 patients with cirrhosis and 15 healthy individuals aged 18 to 65 years were randomly selected between January 2016 and July 2017. The number of circulating stem cells and SDF-1 levels were compared in the patient group and the healthy control group. The correlation between circulating stem cells and SDF-1 concentration with disease severity was evaluated. Results 33% of cirrhotic patients were classified as severity B and 67% as severity C by the Child-Pugh method. The percentage of stem cells and mean SDF-1 concentration in patients with cirrhosis was approximately 2.8 (p < 0.00) and 1.81 (P < 0.001) times higher than in healthy individuals, respectively. Although, there was no significant association between disease severity and the percentage of circulating stem cells in cirrhotic patients (P = 0.46), a significantly higher concentrations of SDF-1 was observed in more severe forms of the disease (p = 0.04). Conclusion The percentage of stem cells and the concentration of SDF-1 in the serum of patients with cirrhosis were higher in patients with cirrhosis. The severity of the disease was significantly related to the SDF-1 concentration.