Decreased plasma fibronectin in liver diseases correlated to the severity of fibrotic, inflammatory and necrotic changes of liver tissue

Abstract

We applied a modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the measurement of human plasma fibronectin and determined the level of plasma fibronectin in 90 patients with various liver diseases and 10 normal subjects. Diagnoses were made by liver biopsy under peritoneoscopy. Plasma fibronectin was significantly decreased in liver cirrhosis patients, but not in acute hepatitis or chronic hepatitis patients. Decreased plasma fibronectin was correlated poorly with 18 laboratory tests, including liver function tests, and inflammatory marker determinations performed prior to peritoneoscopy. A correlation was found between the decreased plasma fibronectin and the severity of fibrotic, inflammatory and necrotic changes of the liver. These results suggested that the level of plasma fibronectin may reflect the severity of tissue injury resulting from chronic liver diseases.