Correlation of Serum M-CSF, CER, and TIMP-1 Levels with Liver Fibrosis in Viral Hepatitis

Abstract

Objective. This research is aimed at investigating the relationship between liver fibrosis in viral hepatitis and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP-1), and ceruloplasmin (CER) in serum level. Methods. Patients were randomly selected among those admitted to our hospital, and 60 healthy volunteers were chosen to serve as control participants. The levels of serum M-CSF, CER, and TIMP-1 were compared. According to the severity of their liver fibrosis, patients with CHB were separated into four groups: S1, S2, S3, and S4. Serum levels of M-CSF, CER, and TIMP-1 were correlated with liver fibrosis and hepatitis markers, and the diagnostic usefulness of the three indices was assessed with liver cirrhosis patients. Results. Increases in M-CSF and TIMP-1 in the CHB group but decreases in CER were statistically significant ( $P<0.05$ ). Serum levels of M-CSF, CER, TIMP-1, HA, PC-III, C-IV, and LN differed significantly across the four study groups ( $P<0.05$ ). Over time, as liver fibrosis worsened, we observed a progressive uptick in M-CSF, TIMP-1, LN, HA, C-IV, and PC-III levels and a progressive downtick in CER levels, with significant ( $P<0.05$ ) differences between the groups. There was a significant positive correlation between liver fibrosis and serum M-CSF, PC-III, TIMP-1, HA, LN, and C-IV levels in the CHB group ( $P<0.05$ ) and a significant negative correlation between serum CER and these same factors ( $P<0.05$ ). The AUC of 0.956 for diagnosing the S4 stage was greater than that of 0.857, 0.851, and 0.817 for M-CSF, CER, and TIMP-1, respectively. Conclusions. In CHB patients, the liver fibrosis degree is associated with the M-CSF, CER, and TIMP-1 levels, and the combined clinical detection of these three markers has better diagnostic significance.