{"title":"Elevated A2F bisect N-glycans of serum IgA reflect progression of liver fibrosis in patients with MASLD.","authors":"Hisatoshi Hanamatsu, Goki Suda, Masatsugu Ohara, Koji Ogawa, Nobuharu Tamaki, Hayato Hikita, Hiroaki Haga, Shinya Maekawa, Masaya Sugiyama, Tatsuhiko Kakisaka, Masato Nakai, Takuya Sho, Nobuaki Miura, Masayuki Kurosaki, Yasuhiro Asahina, Akinobu Taketomi, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Tetsuo Takehara, Takashi Nishikaze, Jun-Ichi Furukawa, Naoya Sakamoto","doi":"10.1007/s00535-024-02206-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Advanced liver fibrosis in cases of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) leads to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The current gold standard for liver fibrosis is invasive liver biopsy. Therefore, a less invasive biomarker that accurately reflects the stage of liver fibrosis is highly desirable.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study enrolled 269 patients with liver biopsy-proven MASLD. Patients were divided into three groups (F0/1 (n = 41/85), F2 (n = 47), and F3/4 (n = 72/24)) according to fibrosis stage. We performed serum N-glycomics and identified glycan biomarker for fibrosis stage. Moreover, we explored the carrier proteins and developed a sandwich ELISA to measure N-glycosylation changes of carrier protein.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Comprehensive N-glycomic analysis revealed significant changes in the expression of A2F bisect and its precursors as fibrosis progressed. The sum of neutral N-glycans carrying bisecting GlcNAc and core Fuc (neutral sum) had a better diagnostic performance to evaluate advanced liver fibrosis (AUC = 0.804) than conventional parameters (FIB4 index, aspartate aminotransferase-to-alanine aminotransferase ratio (AAR), and serum level of Mac-2-binding protein glycol isomer (M2BPGi). The combination of the neutral sum and FIB4 index enhanced diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.840). IgM, IgA, and complement C3 were identified as carrier proteins with A2F bisect N-glycan. A sandwich ELISA based on N-glycans carrying bisecting GlcNAc and IgA showed similar diagnostic performance than the neutral sum.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>A2F bisect N-glycan and its precursors are promising candidate biomarkers for advanced fibrosis in MASLD patients. Analysis of these glycan alterations on IgA may have the potential to serve as a novel ELISA diagnostic tool for MASLD in routine clinical practice.</p><p><strong>Clinical trial number: </strong>UMIN000030720.</p>","PeriodicalId":16059,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Gastroenterology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Gastroenterology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-024-02206-8","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GASTROENTEROLOGY & HEPATOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Advanced liver fibrosis in cases of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) leads to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The current gold standard for liver fibrosis is invasive liver biopsy. Therefore, a less invasive biomarker that accurately reflects the stage of liver fibrosis is highly desirable.
Methods: This study enrolled 269 patients with liver biopsy-proven MASLD. Patients were divided into three groups (F0/1 (n = 41/85), F2 (n = 47), and F3/4 (n = 72/24)) according to fibrosis stage. We performed serum N-glycomics and identified glycan biomarker for fibrosis stage. Moreover, we explored the carrier proteins and developed a sandwich ELISA to measure N-glycosylation changes of carrier protein.
Results: Comprehensive N-glycomic analysis revealed significant changes in the expression of A2F bisect and its precursors as fibrosis progressed. The sum of neutral N-glycans carrying bisecting GlcNAc and core Fuc (neutral sum) had a better diagnostic performance to evaluate advanced liver fibrosis (AUC = 0.804) than conventional parameters (FIB4 index, aspartate aminotransferase-to-alanine aminotransferase ratio (AAR), and serum level of Mac-2-binding protein glycol isomer (M2BPGi). The combination of the neutral sum and FIB4 index enhanced diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.840). IgM, IgA, and complement C3 were identified as carrier proteins with A2F bisect N-glycan. A sandwich ELISA based on N-glycans carrying bisecting GlcNAc and IgA showed similar diagnostic performance than the neutral sum.
Conclusions: A2F bisect N-glycan and its precursors are promising candidate biomarkers for advanced fibrosis in MASLD patients. Analysis of these glycan alterations on IgA may have the potential to serve as a novel ELISA diagnostic tool for MASLD in routine clinical practice.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Gastroenterology, which is the official publication of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology, publishes Original Articles (Alimentary Tract/Liver, Pancreas, and Biliary Tract), Review Articles, Letters to the Editors and other articles on all aspects of the field of gastroenterology. Significant contributions relating to basic research, theory, and practice are welcomed. These publications are designed to disseminate knowledge in this field to a worldwide audience, and accordingly, its editorial board has an international membership.