526 HYPERAMMONEMIA AND INFLAMMATION IN THE INDUCTION OF MINIMAL HEPATIC ENCEPHALOPHATY

plays an important role in the TGF-b1/ Smad pathway. Boers W et al identified genes involved in the transformation of HSC into myofibroblasts and discovered IGFBP-rP1 showed the highest expression in the midphase of the transdifferentiation process. To investigate the effect of IGFBPrP1 and its relationship with TGF-b1/Smad3 pathway in liver tissue from patients with hepatic cirrhosis, we designed this project. Methods: 31 patients included 16 cases of liver cirrhosis and 15 cases of hemangiomas of liver surrounding healthy controls. The cirrhotic group has 10 males and 6 female, between the age of 43–61 (48.63±9.08); the control group contains 6 males and 9 females, aged from 41 to 91 (53.13±13.73). These paraffin samples of liver tissue were carried out HE and Masson straining. The expressions of IGFBPrP1, TGF-b1 and Smad3 were detected by immunohistochemistry staining. Results: HE and Masson staining showed the content of collagen was much higher in the cirrhotic group than that of control group. Immunohistochemical staining showed very few hepatocyte and sinus hepaticus had positive expression of TGF-b1 in the normal liver; sinus hepaticus, portal area and fibrous interval had stronger positive staining in the cirrhotic group. Smad3 had a wide and low level of expression in hepatocytes of normal liver tissue; in the cirrhotic group, positive expression increased in hepatocytes, along with stellate cell plasma in sinus hepaticus, portal area and fibrous intervals. IGFBPrP1 expressed in a few hepatocytes in the normal liver; in the cirrhotic group, plasma of HSC, Kupffer cell, fibroblasts in sinus hepaticus, portal area and fibrous intervals and some hepatocytes had stronger positive expression. The expressions of TGF-b1, Smad3 and IGFBPrP1 were largely increased in cirrhotic group, compared with normal control. IGFBPrP1’s expression has significant positive correlation to that of TGF-b1, Smad3(r = 0.886, 0.900; P < 0.01). Serum HA levels of the 16 patients in the cirrhotic group are much higher than normal. Conclusion: IGFBPrP1 may play an important role in the occurrence and development of liver cirrhosis, which is probably related to TGF-b1/Smad3 pathway.