Serum Clusterin In Patients With Chronic HCV infection Related Cirrhosis

Cirrhosis is a condition in which the liver does not function properly due to long term damage. Typically, the disease comes on slowly over months or years. Cirrhosis is characterized by the replacement of normal liver tissue by scar tissue.  Clusterin (apolipoprotein J) is a 75 - 80 kDa disulfide-linked heterodimeric protein associated with the clearance of cellular debris and apoptosis. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of serum CLU level in diagnosing chronic HCV infection-related cirrhosis, and comparing it to that of alpha fetoprotein (AFP).  Methods: Case control study was carried out in the Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of medicine, Sohag university hospital.Twenty cases of apparently healthy subjects and  20 cases of chronic HCV infection-related cirrhosis(CHC cases) were included in this study. Serum CLU concentration was determined using a quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique.  Results: Serum clusterin level showed a significant decrease in the CHC group compared to the control group (88.3 ± 30.7 vs. 110.7 ± 30.1). Conclusion: CLU is decreased in the serum of patients with established CHC.