Serum copper and ceruloplasmin levels as biomarkers reflecting liver fibrosis in children with autoimmune hepatitis.

Abstract

Background: Clinical, biochemical, histological, and immunological indicators are frequently used to diagnose autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), a chronic inflammatory liver disease affecting children. Wilson disease, which resembles AIH, is mainly evaluated using serum ceruloplasmin and copper levels. However, changes in these biomarkers have also been observed in AIH, raising the question of whether they could be useful for evaluating children with AIH.

Purpose: When selecting a treatment plan and estimating the long-term prognosis of patients with AIH, assessing the liver fibrosis stage is crucial. It is also crucial to identify noninvasive indicators of liver fibrosis, for which ceruloplasmin has been suggested as a biomarker in several liver diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the potential significance of serum ceruloplasmin and copper levels for identifying liver fibrosis in children with AIH.

Methods: One hundred children with AIH treated at Menoufia University's National Liver Institute Pediatric Hepatology, Gastroenterology, and Nutrition Department were enrolled. The duration of the study was 5 years (February 2020 to February 2025). The patients' histopathological, radiographic, laboratory, and clinical data were collected. We used the revised score to diagnose AIH. A Beckman Coulter AU480 chemistry analyzer was used to measure serum copper, while an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure serum ceruloplasmin.

Results: Serum ceruloplasmin levels were considerably lower in patients with advanced fibrosis (F3-4) than in those without advanced fibrosis (F0-2) (P<0.001). However, in patients with extensive fibrosis, the serum copper levels were considerably elevated (P<0.001). Compared to serum copper level, which had an area under a curve of 0.939 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.887-0.991; P<0.001) and a cutoff of >24.7 mg/dL (90.8% sensitivity, 66.9% specificity), ceruloplasmin level had an area under a curve of 0.945 (95% CI, 0.889-1.00; P<0.001), suggesting that it could be a useful tool for the detection of advanced liver fibrosis in children.

Conclusion: To estimate the long-term prognosis of patients with AIH, it is crucial to assess liver fibrosis stage. It is crucial to identify noninvasive indicators of liver fibrosis, for which ceruloplasmin has been suggested as a biomarker. Therefore, serum copper and ceruloplasmin levels may provide important information for the identification of advanced liver fibrosis in children with AIH.