Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein: a new promising biomarker of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C

Abstract

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a biomarker of fibrosis in lung and skin. In this exploratory study we investigated the biomarker potential of COMP in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). We included consecutive patients with CHC admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases, Lund University Hospital. COMP was analysed in serum using ELISA. The correlations between COMP and liver fibrosis, determined by transient elastography (TE) (n = 47) and liver biopsy (n = 28) were assessed. We also studied COMP prospectively in relation to antiviral treatment (n = 10). COMP correlated with the degree of liver fibrosis as assessed by TE (r = 0.71, p < 0.001) and liver biopsy (rs = 0.65, p < 0.001). After successful treatment of CHC, COMP decreased from 18 to 13 U/l (p = 0.011). We suggest that COMP is associated with the stage of liver fibrosis in CHC. The biomarker potential of COMP in CHC warrants further investigation.

Keywords::

• COMP
• chronic hepatitis C
• biomarker
• transient elastography
• liver fibrosis

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to the staff at the Department of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital of Lund, Sweden, for handling of blood samples in the present investigation. We are thankful to Dr Martin Olsson for the laboratory analyses carried out at the Department of Clinical Immunology, Skåne University Hospital.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by grants from the Swedish Rheumatism Association, the Medical Faculty of the University of Lund, Alfred Österlund's Foundation, Greta and Johan Kock's Foundation, the King Gustaf V's Jubilee Foundation, Skåne University Hospital and Bengt Ihres fond.