Serum DHCR24 Auto-antibody as a new Biomarker for Progression of Hepatitis C

• Main Authors: Sayeh Ezzikouri, Kiminori Kimura, Hajime Sunagozaka, Shuichi Kaneko, Kazuaki Inoue, Tomohiro Nishimura, Tsunekazu Hishima, Michinori Kohara, Kyoko Tsukiyama-Kohara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2015-06-01
• Series: EBioMedicine
• Subjects: 3β-Hydroxysterol Δ24-reductase antibody; Serum autoantibody; Liver cancer; Biomarker; Hepatitis C virus
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396415001012

Background: New biomarkers are needed to identify the stage of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected diseases in order to reduce the mortality rates. Herein, we investigated whether serum 3β-hydroxysterol Δ24-reductase antibody (DHCR24 Ab) may serve as a prognostic marker for hepatitis C infection progression to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Serum DHCR24 Abs from 395 HCV-positive patients, including 133 chronic hepatitis (CHC), 85 liver cirrhosis (LCC), and 177 HCC (HCC-C) patients; 232 hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive patients, including 103 chronic hepatitis (CHB), 56 liver cirrhosis (LCB), and 73 HCC (HCC-B) patients; and 24 healthy controls, were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The serum DHCR24 Ab levels were significantly higher in patients with CHC than in healthy controls, in LCC than in CHC, and in LCC than in HCC-C (P < 0.0001 for all). The concentration of serum DHCR24 Ab in HCC-B patients showed no significant difference compared to CHB and LCB patients (P = 0.1247). The DHCR24 Ab levels were significantly higher in early HCC-C than CHC or LCC patients and in late HCC-C compared to early HCC-C patients. The sensitivity of the DHCR24 Ab for HCC-C detection (70.6%) was higher than that of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP; 54.8%) and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II; 42 · 5%). Moreover, DHCR24 was up-regulated in HCV-positive, but not HBV-positive tissues or HBV-negative, HCV-negative HCC specimens. Conclusions: DHCR24 auto-antibody represents a potential noninvasive biomarker for HCV-related liver disease and may facilitate the diagnosis of PIVKA-II and AFP-negative HCC.