Aspartate aminotransferase‐to‐platelet ratio index outperforms Fibrosis‐4 in 2843 Korean patients with metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease

Article

Author: Yoon, Ki Tae ; Park, Soo Young ; Lee, Yu Rim ; Jun, Dae Won ; Kweon, Young‐Oh ; Jo, Hoon Gil ; Baek, Yang Hyun ; Tak, Won Young ; Moon, Sang Yi ; Jang, Se Young ; Jo, Ae Jeong ; Cho, Young Youn

AbstractAimThe definition of metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has recently been proposed. We aim to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of noninvasive fibrosis markers in predicting liver fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), metabolic dysfunction‐associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), and MASLD.MethodsThis retrospective study involved 2843 patients diagnosed with steatotic liver disease at six tertiary hospitals in South Korea. Liver fibrosis was assessed using vibration‐controlled transient elastography, and various noninvasive markers, including the aspartate aminotransferase‐to‐platelet ratio index (APRI), Fibrosis‐4 index (FIB‐4), NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), and serum Mac‐2‐binding protein glycosylation isomer were analyzed.ResultsAmong 1106 patients, 79.9% met criteria for NAFLD, MAFLD, and MASLD. The APRI had area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values of 0.819, 0.821, and 0.818 for liver fibrosis ≥F2, and 0.819, 0.824, and 0.884 for liver fibrosis ≥F3, and 0.890, 0.884, and 0.889 for fibrosis ≥F4 in NAFLD, MAFLD, and MASLD, respectively. The FIB‐4 index showed AUC values of 0.776, 0.793, and 0.778 for fibrosis ≥F2, 0.788, 0.814, and 0.79 for fibrosis ≥F3, and 0.846, 0.859, and 0.856 for fibrosis ≥F4. The APRI consistently had the highest AUC values, except in individuals older than 64 years for fibrosis ≥F4.ConclusionsThe APRI was the most effective noninvasive fibrosis marker across NAFLD, MAFLD, and MASLD, particularly in age‐stratified analyses. Further research is needed to establish standardized cut‐off values and enhance the clinical utility of these markers in managing liver fibrosis.

01 Apr 2025·Journal of Gastroenterology

Serum Mac2-binding protein glycosylated isomer (M2BPGi) as a prognostic biomarker in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: iCAFs-derived M2BPGi drives tumor invasion

Article

Author: Hashigo, Shunpei ; Watanabe, Takehisa ; Iwasaki, Hajime ; Ishimoto, Takatsugu ; Yamada, Rin ; Ushijima, Shinya ; Komohara, Yoshihiro ; Hayashi, Hiromitsu ; Tanaka, Yasuhito ; Nagaoka, Katsuya ; Kugiyama, Naotaka ; Otsuka, Fumiya ; Uramoto, Yukiko ; Yamazaki, Hajime ; Yoshinari, Motohiro

BACKGROUNDPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. Mac2-binding protein glycosylated isomer (M2BPGi), a known biomarker for liver fibrosis, is also elevated in other fibrotic tissues. However, its role in PDAC remains unexplored. This study investigates the potential of M2BPGi as a prognostic biomarker for PDAC and elucidates its role in cancer progression.METHODSWe analyzed serum M2BPGi levels in 83 PDAC patients and 60 healthy controls, examining the relationship with clinical outcomes. Tissue immunostaining and in vitro experiments were conducted to investigate M2BPGi-secreting cells and its role.RESULTSSerum M2BPGi levels were significantly higher in PDAC patients than in controls (0.98 vs. 0.59, p < 0.0001). Notably, elevated serum M2BPGi was associated with worse progression-free survival (144 days vs. 260 days, p = 0.017) and overall survival (OS) (245 days vs. 541 days, p < 0.001) following chemotherapy. Multivariable Cox regression analysis further confirmed that a high serum M2BPGi level is an independent risk factor for OS (HR: 2.44, 95% CI 1.26-4.74, p = 0.008). Immunostaining revealed that M2BPGi is secreted by both cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), with high M2BP expression in CAFs correlating with poor prognosis. Furthermore, M2BPGi-secreting CAFs exhibited characteristics of inflammatory CAFs. M2BPGi directly activated mTOR signaling and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in PDAC cells, enhancing their invasive and migratory capabilities.CONCLUSIONSOur findings identify M2BPGi as a promising prognostic biomarker for PDAC. Moreover, we demonstrate that inflammatory CAFs promote tumor invasion and contribute to poor outcomes by secreting M2BPGi, revealing a novel mechanism of PDAC progression.

01 Mar 2025·Molecular & Cellular Proteomics

HEXB Drives Raised Paucimannosylation in Colorectal Cancer and Stratifies Patient Risk

Article

Author: Kautto, Liisa ; Bansal, Naaz ; Chau, The Huong ; Liquet-Weiland, Benoit ; Thaysen-Andersen, Morten ; Kawahara, Rebeca ; Ahn, Seong Beom ; Dipta, Priya

Noninvasive prognostic markers are needed to improve the survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Toward this goal, we applied untargeted systems glycobiology approaches to snap-frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissues and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from CRC patients spanning different disease stages and matching controls to faithfully uncover molecular changes associated with CRC. Quantitative glycomics and immunohistochemistry revealed that noncanonical paucimannosidic N-glycans are elevated in CRC tumors relative to normal adjacent tissues. Cell origin-focused glycoproteomics enabled using the well-curated Human Protein Atlas combined with immunohistochemistry of CRC tumor tissues recapitulated these findings and indicated that the paucimannosidic proteins were in part from tumor-infiltrating monocytes (e.g., MPO, AZU1) and of CRC cell origin (e.g., LGALS3BP, PSAP). Biosynthetically explaining these observations, N-acetyl-β-D-hexosaminidase (Hex) subunit β (HEXB) was found to be overexpressed in CRC tissues relative to normal adjacent colorectal tissues and colocalization and enzyme inhibition studies confirmed that HEXB facilitates paucimannosidic protein biosynthesis in CRC cells. Employing a sensitive, quick, and robust enzyme activity assay, we then showed that Hex activity was elevated in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with advanced CRC relative to controls and those with early-stage disease. Surveying a large donor cohort, the plasma Hex activity was found to be raised in CRC patients relative to normal controls and correlated with the 5-year survival of CRC patients indicating that elevated plasma Hex activity is a potential disease risk marker for patient outcome. Our glycoproteomics-driven findings open avenues for better prognostication and disease risk stratification in CRC.

Analysis

Perform a panoramic analysis of this field.

view full example data

Hiro LS Researcher

The AI Search Engine Built to Accelerate Biopharma Decisions

Search across billion-scale life sciences data to uncover signals, validate evidence, and act with confidence.

Ask any biopharma research question→

Get started for free today!

Accelerate Strategic R&D decision making with Synapse, Patsnap’s AI-powered Connected Innovation Intelligence Platform Built for Life Sciences Professionals.

Discover Synapse Data Servers

Synapse data is now integrated into the PatSnap LS Model Context Protocol (MCP) service. Customize your LLM agent now using our MCP server!

Bio

Bio Sequences Search & Analysis

Chemical

Chemical Structures Search & Analysis

LGALS3BP

Basic Info

Related

Analysis