Serum soluble CD44 levels in patients with acute and fulminant hepatitis: Relationship with serum hyaluronate levels

Abstract

Hyaluronate (HA) is a major ligand of CD44, an adhesion receptor molecule for the extracellular matrix. We previously reported that the serum HA level is markedly increased in acute liver diseases, particularly in fulminant hepatitis (FH) and the HA level may be a useful indicator for evaluating the degree of severity of liver damage and the prognosis for patients with acute liver diseases. In this study, we measured serum soluble CD44 (sCD44) levels in patients with acute hepatitis (AH), acute severe hepatitis (AHS) and FH, and evaluated the relationship with HA levels. The levels of serum sCD44 (mean±S.D.; ng/ml) were elevated in acute liver diseases (AH; 524.7±142.6, AHS; 615.1±170.2, FH; 811.6±249.5) and correlated significantly with the serum HA levels. The serum sCD44 levels also showed significant negative correlations with serum albumin levels, results of the hepaplastin test and prothrombin time, and positive correlations with serum total birilubin, white blood cell count and human hepatocyte growth factor levels. These results suggest that the serum sCD44 level is markedly increased and parallels the serum HA level in acute liver failure, although further study is needed to clarify the significance of serum sCD44 in liver disease.