Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive human Mac-2-binding protein as a predictive marker of liver fibrosis in HIV/HCV co-infected patients.

Aim In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfected patients, the progression of liver failure is reported to be more aggressive than that in HCV mono-infected patients. Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive human Mac-2-binding protein (WFA(+)-M2BP) is well recognized as a liver fibrosis glycobiomarker with a unique fibrosis-related glycoalteration. We analyzed HIV/HCV coinfected patients' M2BP levels as a possible marker for predicting liver fibrosis. Methods M2BP was measured in 31 HIV/HCV coinfected patients, and we analyzed the correlation between WFA(+)-M2BP and several markers of fibrosis, liver function, and tumor markers. We compared the WFA(+)-M2BP levels in HIV/HCV coinfected patients with those of HCV mono-infected patients by performing a propensity score matching analysis. Results In the HIV/HCV coinfected patients, the serum level of WFA(+)-M2BP was well correlated with the markers type IV collagen, hyaluronic acid, and alpha-fetoprotein, but not protein induced by vitamin K absence-II. In the propensity score matching with HCV mono-infected patients, the WFA(+)-M2BP levels were significantly higher in the HIV/HCV coinfected patients compared with the levels in the HCV mono-infected patients. Conclusion In conclusion, WFA(+)-M2BP might be a feasible predictive marker of fibrosis in HIV/HCV coinfected patients.