von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF-Ag): A non-invasive predictor of treatment response and serious adverse events in HCV patients with interferon triple therapy

Nomogram model for identifying portal vein thrombosis in patients with decompensated cirrhosis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Von Willebrand factor (vWF) plays a key role in hemostasis and is reported to be related to the outcome of advanced chronic liver disease. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between vWF and other potential variables and portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in patients with decompensated cirrhosis.

METHODS

Consecutive cirrhotic patients with gastroesophageal varices were admitted to our hospital between January 2020 and September 2022. Patients were prospectively recruited and divided into PVT and non-PVT groups. We collected clinical tests, biochemical tests, coagulation tests, and hemostatic protein profile data to explore the associated factors of PVT.

RESULTS

A total of 128 patients were enrolled including 60 patients with PVT and 68 patients without PVT. Plasma levels of vWF [odds ratio (OR) = 1.015, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.005-1.025, P = 0.005], D-dimer (OR = 1.967, 95% CI: 1.141-3.389, P = 0.015), and decreased portal vein velocity (PVV) (OR = 0.852, 95% CI: 0.769-0.944, P = 0.002) were the variables independently associated with the existence of PVT. Area under the curve (AUC) analyses for vWF, D-dimer, and PVV were 0.779, 0.848, and 0.832, respectively. A nomogram model was established involving the three parameters, and the AUC was 0.919 (95% CI: 0.869-0.969). In the internal validation using bootstrap, the AUC was 0.919 (95% CI: 0.868-0.970).

CONCLUSION

Higher vWF levels were related to PVT in patients with decompensated cirrhosis, indicating that vWF might serve as a relevant factor for PVT, and a nomogram containing vWF, D-dimer, and PVV could be an important tool for PVT identification in cirrhotic patients.

Platelet Activation is Upregulated in Cirrhotic Patients with Portal Vein Thrombosis

OBJECTIVE

 Platelet plays a key role in thrombosis formation, especially that the alteration of platelet function may influence the thrombosis development. This study aimed to investigate platelet function alterations in the formation of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in cirrhosis.

METHODS

 Cirrhotic patients admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between October 2021 and April 2023 were recruited and divided into PVT and non-PVT groups according to radiological results. Clinical parameters and prognosis were also collected and assessed to identify potential risk factors. Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of CD62p, CD63, monocyte-platelet aggregates (MPAs), neutrophil-platelet aggregates (NPAs), and von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF-Ag) to evaluate platelet activation and adhesion function.

RESULTS

 A total of 145 subjects were enrolled in our study including 60 cirrhotic PVT patients, 60 cirrhotic non-PVT patients, and 25 healthy volunteers. Multivariate analysis suggested that esophageal gastric varices, splenectomy, and D-dimer were independent risk factors for PVT pathogenesis in cirrhosis. The vWF-Ag expression level was reduced in the PVT group compared with the non-PVT group (p = 0.046) but was not an independent risk factor for PVT formation pathogenesis. The expression of CD41+CD62p+ and CD41+CD63+ platelets in the PVT group was significantly elevated compared with that in the non-PVT group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in MPAs and NPAs between the two cirrhotic groups. Subgroup analysis showed that the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of CD62p and CD63 was associated with portal hypertension-related complications (p = 0.008, p < 0.001), and CD63 MFI was significantly associated with thrombosis burden (p = 0.019). CD41+CD62p+ and CD41+CD63+ platelets as well as MPAs and NPAs were highly expressed in the splenectomy group compared with those in the nonsplenectomy group in cirrhotic patients (p < 0.05). Positive correlations were found between CD62p MFI and CD63 MFI, MPAs and NPAs (r = 0.642, p < 0.001; r = 0.378, p = 0.003; r = 0.430, p < 0.001). In addition, platelet counts were also correlated with MPAs (r = 0.556, p < 0.001) and NPAs (r = 0.467, p < 0.001). Cirrhotic patients with PVT had higher mortality and were more likely to experience portal hypertension-related complications in the prognostic analysis (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

 Highly activated platelet function exists in patients with cirrhosis, and platelet activation was elevated during PVT formation, suggesting that activated platelets may participate in the formation of PVT in patients with cirrhosis.