Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is an autoimmune chronic liver disease, characterised by destruction of the small intrahepatic bile ducts. sCD163 is a macrophage activation marker shedded into plasma by macrophages in the liver. sMR is a soluble mannose receptor. The investigators want to investigate whether sCD163 and sMR correlate with disease severity in patients with PBC, and whether sCD163 and sMR can predict short term disease progression, changes in quality of life and death in these patients.
Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC, previously called 'primary biliary cirrhosis') is an autoimmune cholestatic liver disease characterized by destruction of intrahepatic bile ducts and progression to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. In the pre-cirrhotic phase, fatigue and pruritus are the dominant symptoms. They reduce PBC patients' quality of life, but the extent to which they cause the patient to leave the work force and seek disability pension is unknown. The diagnosis of PBC is based on the presence of two of three major criteria; unexplained serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) >1.5 times upper normal limit for more than 24 weeks, presence of anti-mitochondrial antibodies (AMA), and compatible liver histology. Multiple models have been conducted to predict prognosis in patients with PBC. The Mayo risk score is the best validated and includes information on age, bilirubin, albumin, prothrombin time and peripheral oedema. Other prognostic factors are pruritus and fatigue at diagnosis that predict the time to develop cirrhosis and its complications.
In PBC, inflammation is attributed to an immune response to mitochondrial autoantigens followed by a serologic response of anti-mitochondrial antibodies (AMAs); and accompanied by inflammation of small bile ducts. The pathogenesis includes both CD4 and CD8 cells, which in the presence of biliary cells expressing the 2-oxo-dehydrogenase pathway (PDC-E2) activates macrophages via granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor. The activated macrophages, together with AMAs, produce a proinflammatory response with subsequent liver inflammation and fibrosis. Thus, macrophages seem to be involved in PBC disease severity and progression. However, macrophage activation markers have not previously been investigated in PBC patients. The investigators' research group have during the last years investigated the macrophage activation marker sCD163. The group have shown increased levels in relation to liver fibrosis/cirrhosis in patients with chronic viral hepatitis (HBV and HCV), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD/NASH) and alcoholic liver disease (alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis) and liver disease severity including risk of portal hypertension and development of complications and mortality. Just recently the investigators' research group also demonstrated that the soluble mannose receptor (sMR) and sCD163 are associated with early and long-term prognosis of patients with cirrhosis and acute-on-chronic liver failure.
To investigate sCD163 and sMR as markers of fibrosis and cirrhosis in PBC patients. Further, the investigators will investigate sCD163 and sMR as prognostic markers of short-term disease progression and impact on quality of life in patients followed in our liver centre. Moreover, the patients' short-term risk of requiring disability pension will be investigated. This will improve the information available for the patients regarding their short-term prognosis.
Condition | Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, Liver Inflammation |
---|---|
Treatment | Blood samples, fibroscan and questionaires |
Clinical Study Identifier | NCT02924701 |
Sponsor | University of Aarhus |
Last Modified on | 23 February 2022 |
,
You have contacted , on
Your message has been sent to the study team at ,
You are contacting
Primary Contact
Additional screening procedures may be conducted by the study team before you can be confirmed eligible to participate.
Learn moreIf you are confirmed eligible after full screening, you will be required to understand and sign the informed consent if you decide to enroll in the study. Once enrolled you may be asked to make scheduled visits over a period of time.
Learn moreComplete your scheduled study participation activities and then you are done. You may receive summary of study results if provided by the sponsor.
Learn moreEvery year hundreds of thousands of volunteers step forward to participate in research. Sign up as a volunteer and receive email notifications when clinical trials are posted in the medical category of interest to you.
Sign up as volunteer
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur, adipisicing elit. Ipsa vel nobis alias. Quae eveniet velit voluptate quo doloribus maxime et dicta in sequi, corporis quod. Ea, dolor eius? Dolore, vel!
No annotations made yet
Congrats! You have your own personal workspace now.