Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital (Qingdao), Shandong University, Qingdao, 266035, China.
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Qilu Hospital (Qingdao), Shandong University, Qingdao, 266035, China.
BMC Infect Dis. 2023 Dec 7;23(1):860. doi: 10.1186/s12879-023-08865-x.
Aberrant Wnt5a expression contributes to immunity, inflammation and tissue damage. However, it remains unknown whether Wnt5a is associated with liver injury in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. We aimed to explore the potential role of Wnt5a expression in liver injury caused by chronic HBV infection.
Wnt5a mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were analyzed in 31 acute-on-chronic hepatitis B liver failure (ACHBLF) patients, 82 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, and 20 healthy controls using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Intrahepatic Wnt5a protein expression from 32 chronic HBV infection patients and 6 normal controls was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining.
Wnt5a mRNA expression was increased in CHB patients and ACHBLF patients compared to healthy controls and correlated positively with liver injury markers. Additionally, there was a significant correlation between Wnt5a mRNA expression and HBV DNA load in all patients and CHB patients but not in ACHBLF patients. Furthermore, intrahepatic Wnt5a protein expression was elevated in chronic HBV infection patients compared to that in normal controls. Moreover, chronic HBV infection patients with higher hepatic inflammatory grades had increased intrahepatic Wnt5a protein expression compared with lower hepatic inflammatory grades. In addition, the cut-off value of 12.59 for Wnt5a mRNA level was a strong indicator in predicting ACHBLF in CHB patients.
We found that Wnt5a expression was associated with liver injury in chronic HBV infection patients. Wnt5a might be involved in exacerbation of chronic HBV infection.
异常的 Wnt5a 表达有助于免疫、炎症和组织损伤。然而，目前尚不清楚 Wnt5a 是否与慢性乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染引起的肝损伤有关。我们旨在探讨 Wnt5a 表达在慢性 HBV 感染引起的肝损伤中的潜在作用。
采用实时定量聚合酶链反应分析 31 例慢加急性乙型肝炎肝衰竭（ACHBLF）患者、82 例慢性乙型肝炎（CHB）患者和 20 例健康对照者外周血单个核细胞（PBMCs）中的 Wnt5a mRNA 水平。采用免疫组织化学染色法检测 32 例慢性 HBV 感染患者和 6 例正常对照者肝内 Wnt5a 蛋白表达。
CHB 患者和 ACHBLF 患者的 Wnt5a mRNA 表达高于健康对照组，与肝损伤标志物呈正相关。此外，所有患者和 CHB 患者的 Wnt5a mRNA 表达与 HBV DNA 载量均呈显著相关，但 ACHBLF 患者无此相关性。此外，慢性 HBV 感染患者肝内 Wnt5a 蛋白表达高于正常对照组。此外，与低肝炎症分级患者相比，高肝炎症分级的慢性 HBV 感染患者肝内 Wnt5a 蛋白表达增加。此外，CHB 患者中 Wnt5a mRNA 水平的截断值为 12.59 是预测 ACHBLF 的一个强有力指标。
我们发现 Wnt5a 表达与慢性 HBV 感染患者的肝损伤有关。Wnt5a 可能参与慢性 HBV 感染的恶化。
