Fatih KIVRAKOĞLU, Mustafa ERGİN, Serdar KAYIHAN, Hanife UZAR, Zahide ŞİMŞEK, İlhami YÜKSEL
Anatolian Current Medical Journal - 2026;8(5):1075-1080
Aims: This investigation sought to evaluate the potential associations between circulating A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS)-7, and ADAMTS-12 protein concentrations and the degree of structural hepatic fibrosis observed in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods: This retrospective descriptive study included a cohort of 77 patients diagnosed with CHB, alongside 30 age-matched healthy participants. We utilized a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methodology to quantify the serum concentrations of both ADAMTS-7 and ADAMTS-12 in all study subjects. Fibrosis stage was assessed through liver biopsy, graded by the Ishak scoring system. Statistical analyses were conducted to compare groups and to evaluate the correlation between biomarker levels and fibrosis stage. Results: Compared with the healthy control group, patients with CHB exhibited significantly reduced serum concentrations of ADAMTS-7 and ADAMTS-12. However, no significant differences emerged between mild and advanced fibrosis. Conclusion: Serum ADAMTS-7 and ADAMTS-12 levels are significantly reduced in patients with CHB compared to healthy controls. However, since they do not differentiate between mild and advanced fibrosis, they have limited clinical utility as non-invasive biomarkers for staging fibrosis severity. These reductions may reflect a generalized response to chronic viral infection rather than the specific extent of fibrotic tissue.
