[Serum levels and clinical significance of soluble CD40 in liver disease].

Aim: To measure the level of serum soluble CD40 (sCD40) in patients with acute hepatitis, hepatitis gravis and primary carcinoma of the liver, and to evaluate the relationship of sCD40 with biochemical marks and disease prognosis.

Methods: Patients with acute hepatitis (n=49) hepatitis gravis (n=22) and primary carcinoma of the liver (n=13) were studied, and serum sCD40 was determined in these patients and compared with that of healthy controls (n=44) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The binding capacity of serum sCD40 to its ligand CD40L was detected by flow cytometry (FCM) in vitro.

Results: Concentration of sCD40 was significantly higher in patients with liver disease than that in healthy controls (P<0.001), but no significant difference was found between the three types of liver disease (P=0.475). In the hepatitis gravis group, sCD40 concentration in dead patients was higher compared with that in the survivals (P<0.05). Level of sCD40 in patients with acute hepatitis was correlated with serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartic transaminase (AST). The serum sCD40 could bind CD40L in vitro.

Conclusion: These data suggest that sCD40 is an important serological marker in liver disease to evaluate acute injury of hepatocytes, and it shows a relevance with the prognosis of hepatitis gravis. The highly elevated level of sCD40 suggest the involvement of CD40 and its ligand CD40L in liver disease.