engleski

Endothelin in various degrees of alcoholic liver cirrhosis patients

Introduction: Endothelin (ET) is a potent vasoconstrictor peptide, made up of 21 aminoacids. It is produced and released from endothelial cells in the from of preproendothelin where an intermediate big-endothelin is derived. Their function is the control of cardiovascular and renal function. Increased ET1 levels have been reported in various diseases related to deranged systemic circulation, especially in alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC) patients. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate significance of ET1 measurement in various degrees of decompensated alcoholic liver cirrhosis patients. Materials and methods: ET1 was measured in plasma of 42 healthy volunteers and 28 liver cirrhosis patients (included according to clinical and biochemical criteria). ET1 levels were measured by ELISA ET1-21 test (Biomedica, Graz, Austria) with a detectable limit of 0.05 pmol/l. Statistical analysis was made by Sigmastat and Excel computer program. Differences between groups were tested by Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney test, correlation between biochemical tests and ET1 by Pearson correlation coefficient, and clinical accuracy by ROC analysis. Results: ET1 levels were significantly higher in liver cirrhosis groups than in healthy volunteers (cirrhotics 0.6, range 0.4-0.95; vs. healthy 0.1, range 0.1-0.6 pmol/l, p<0.001). Significant correlation was found between degree of illness based on Child-Pugh classification and ET levels. ET was higher in those who were Child C than in group B (p=0.003). ET1 levels were higher in patients with ascites but difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Clinical accuracy of ET1 is very high in liver cirrhosis patients (r=0.912), so it might be a useful marker of developed vascular changes and circulation derangement in these patients.

endothelin; alcoholic liver cirrhosis

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