Collagen gene cluster expression and liver fibrogenesis in patients with biliary atresia: a preliminary study.

Objective: Biliary atresia (BA) is a progressive fibro-obliterative disease of the biliary tract, which results in end-stage liver disease. However, liver fibrosis progression may continue even after Kasai surgery. Recent evidence showed that collagen plays a pivotal role in the progression of liver fibrosis in BA. However, most studies were conducted in developed countries. We investigated the expressions of the collagen gene cluster (COL6A1, COL6A2, COL6A3, and COL1A1) in BA patients in Indonesia. Results: There was a significant down-regulated expression of COL6A1 (ΔC T 9.06 ± 2.64 vs. 5.42 ± 2.41; p = 0.0009), COL6A2 (ΔC T 8.25 ± 2.07 vs. 5.77 ± 3.51; p = 0.02), COL6A3 (ΔC T 11.2 ± 6.08 vs. 6.78 ± 3.51; p = 0.024), and COL1A1 (ΔC T 3.26 ± 1.71 vs. 0.19 ± 2.76; p = 0.0015) in BA patients compared to controls. Interestingly, the collagen gene cluster expressions were significantly associated with the presence of cirrhosis (p = 0.0085, 0.04, and 0.0283 for COL6A1, COL6A2, and COL6A3, respectively). In conclusion, our study shows the changes in the collagen gene cluster, particularly collagen type I and VI, expressions in patients with BA in a particular developing country. Our findings suggest the role of these collagen gene clusters in the liver fibrogenesis of BA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of BMC Research Notes is the property of BioMed Central and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)