Clinical value of serum soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and autoimmune hepatitis

Objective To investigate the clinical value of serum soluble intercellular adhesion molecule- 1 ( sICAM- 1) in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis ( PBC) and autoimmune hepatitis ( AIH) . Methods Sixty- one PBC patients and 59 AIH patients, who were hospitalized or visited the outpatient department from June 2012 to September 2013, as well as 50 healthy controls, were included in the study. The PBC patients included 29 incipient cases, 21 cases in remission, and 11 recurrent cases; the AIH patients included 26 incipient cases, 20 cases in remission, and 13 recurrent cases. Serum sICAM- 1 level was measured by double- antibody sandwich enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay, and serum levels of alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) and total bilirubin ( TBil) were determined by biochemical enzyme assay. Comparison between groups was made by analysis of variance; Pearson correlation analysis was performed. Results Among PBC patients, the incipient group and recurrent group had significantly higher serum sICAM- 1 levels than the remission group and control group ( P = 0. 000 for all) ; there was no significant difference in serum sICAM- 1 level between the incipient group and recurrent group ( P = 0. 484) ; the remission group had a significantly higher serum sICAM- 1 level than the control group ( P = 0. 000) . Among AIH patients, the incipient group and recurrent group had significantly higher serum sICAM- 1 levels than the remission group and control group ( P = 0. 000 for all) ; there was no significant difference in serum sICAM- 1 level between the incipient group and recurrent group ( P = 0. 802) ; no significant difference in serum sICAM- 1 level was seen between the remission group and control group ( P = 0. 281) . For patients with PBC and AIH, serum sICAM- 1 level was positively correlated with serum levels of ALT ( r = 0. 664, P = 0. 000; r = 0. 784, P = 0. 000) and TBil ( r = 0. 715, P = 0. 000; r = 0. 580, P = 0. 000) . Conclusion Serum sICAM- 1 may be involved in the immunologic injury in PBC and AIH. In patients with PBC and AIH, the elevation of serum sICAM- 1 level is closely correlated with the severity of liver damage. Clinical monitoring of serum sICAM- 1 level may play an important role in severity assessment, prognostic evaluation, and therapy guidance among patients with autoimmune liver diseases.