• Dong Wook Jekarl, Hyunyu Choi, Seungok Lee, Jung Hyun Kwon, Sung Won Lee, Hein Yu, Myungshin Kim, Yonggoo Kim, Pil Soo Sung, and Seung Kew Yoon.
• Department of Laboratory Medicine, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
• Ann Lab Med. 2018 Jul 1; 38 (4): 348-354.

BackgroundWisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein (WFA-M2BP) is a protein with altered glycosylation that reacts with lectin, and was recently identified as a useful non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis C virus infection.This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of WFA-M2BP for liver fibrosis in the context of hepatitis B virus (HBV).MethodsWe enrolled 151 patients infected with HBV. Liver biopsy and elastography (Fibroscan) were performed during the initial visit. Fibrosis was graded according to the Knodell histologic activity index (F0-3). WFA-M2BP levels were determined with an automated immunoassay analyzer (M2BPGi, HISCL-5000, Sysmex, Japan). The diagnostic efficacy of WFA-M2BP was compared with those of various conventional or composite biomarkers, including enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) score, Fibroscan, aspartate transaminase (AST)-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), and FIB-4, based on the area under the ROC curve (AUC) value.ResultsThe majority of patients were at fibrosis stages F1 and F2. The F2 and F3 AUC values for WFA-M2BP were similar to those for FIB-4, APRI, ELF, and Fibroscan, although the latter showed the best diagnostic efficacy. The diagnostic accuracy of all tested biomarkers for F2 and F3 was 60-70%. In multivariate analysis, WFA-M2BP, ELF, and platelet count significantly predicted stage ≥F2, whereas only platelet count significantly predicted F3.ConclusionsWFA-M2BP can support a diagnosis of liver fibrosis with similar diagnostic efficacy to other biomarkers, and predicted liver fibrosis stage ≥2 among patients with chronic hepatitis B.© The Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine.

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