WFA+M2BP in Evaluation of Portal Hypertension and Clinical Outcome in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis

Portal hypertension is a common complication of chronic liver diseases and is responsible for most clinical consequences of cirrhosis. Accurate assessment of portal hypertension is essential for strategy of treatment and judgement of prognosis. Although measurement of the hepatic venous pressure gradient(HVPG) is the gold standard for evaluating the presence and severity of portal hypertension, this technique is considered invasive and is not routinely performed in all centers. Therefore, it is urgent to explore a noninvasive assessment of portal hypertension. Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive human Mac-2 binding protein (WFA+-M2BP) is a secreted N-glycoprotein, which has been reported as a novel marker in assessing liver fibrosis. Recently, a retrospective study investigated the role of WFA+-M2BP in assessing the degree of liver cirrhosis and predicting mortality. However, the correlation of WFA+-M2BP with HVPG is unclear. And the role of WFA+-M2BP in predicting the clinical outcome of liver fibrosis patients is needed to be further evaluated. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between WFA+-M2BP and HVPG, as well as its predictive ability of complication rate, including large varices, bleed status, and ascites, and liver disease-related mortality.