Caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18 and 20 S proteasome in liver degeneration

✍ Scribed by Hubert Hetz; Konrad Hoetzenecker; Stefan Hacker; Peter Faybik; Andreas Pollreisz; Bernhard Moser; Georg Roth; Wolfram Hoetzenecker; Michael Lichtenauer; Markus Klinger; Claus Georg Krenn; Hendrik Jan Ankersmit

• Book ID: 102310584
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 119 KB
• Volume: 21
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0887-8013
• DOI: 10.1002/jcla.20180

✦ Synopsis

Apoptosis of epithelial hepatocytes plays a pivotal role in acute as well as in chronic liver diseases. The cleavage of cytokeratin-18 (CK-18) by caspases is an early event in the apoptotic process. We therefore sought to investigate serum levels of CK-18 and 20S proteasome in patients with liver cirrhosis, primary graft dysfunction (PDF), and acute liver failure (ALF), and in healthy volunteers. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was utilized to measure the concentration of M30, a fragment of CK-18 cleaved at Asp396 (M30 neoantigen), and the concentration of 20S proteasome. Serum levels of the CK-18 neoepitope M30 were significantly increased in ALF, primary graft dysfunction, and liver cirrhosis vs. healthy controls (1,993.67 124.