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. 2025 Aug 7;31(29):105210.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i29.105210.

Predictive value of core-fucosylated low-molecular-weight kininogen levels in patients with liver fibrosis: A prospective study

Guo-Feng Gao  1 , Jiao Yu  1 , Lin Tong  2 , Dong Jiang  3
Affiliations

Predictive value of core-fucosylated low-molecular-weight kininogen levels in patients with liver fibrosis: A prospective study

Guo-Feng Gao et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Background: Core-fucosylated low-molecular-weight kininogen (LMWK-Fc) levels are significantly elevated in patients with liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Aim: To assess the value of LMWK-Fc as a diagnostic biomarker for liver fibrosis.

Methods: Our study included 132 healthy people and 132 patients with liver fibrosis. The LMWK-Fc level was measured based on the principle of chemiluminescence. Fibrosis stage and inflammatory activity were assessed by liver biopsy. Comparative analysis between groups and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were performed.

Results: LMWK-Fc had an area under the curve of 0.871, which indicates a good level of performance in distinguishing between patients with and without fibrosis. Furthermore, the LMWK-Fc level had a certain correlation with the liver stiffness value, which reached 0.5789.

Conclusion: LMWK-Fc could be used as a non-invasive marker of liver fibrosis. Further studies are needed to evaluate the usefulness of this marker.

Keywords: Cirrhosis; Core-fucosylated low-molecular-weight kininogen; Liver fibrosis; Non-invasive marker; Transient elastography.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of core-fucosylated low-molecular-weight kininogen and other biomarkers. ROC: Receiver operating characteristic; AUC: Area under the curve; APRI: Aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index; LMWK: Low-molecular-weight kininogen; GGT: Gamma-glutamyl transferase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Nomogram for low-molecular-weight kininogen and other biomarkers. LMWK: Low-molecular-weight kininogen; APRI: Aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; GGT: Gamma-glutamyl transferase.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for the nomogram. AUC: Area under the curve.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Clinical decision curve for the nomogram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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