Serum laminin and portal pressure in alcoholic cirrhosis. A study of 39 patients

A correlation between serum laminin, a glycoprotein found in basement membranes, and hepatic wedge pressure has previously been reported in a small number of patients with various liver diseases. To study this relationship in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, we measured the wedge hepatic pressure and venous gradient, in comparison with serum concentrations of laminin and collagen metabolism products: N-terminal peptide of type III procollagen, collagen type I, and collagen type III in 39 patients. A statistically significant correlation was observed between serum laminin and wedged hepatic pressure (r = 0.529; p less than 10(-3] or hepatic venous gradient (r = 0.482; p = 0.002). By contrast, no statistically significant correlation was found between hemodynamic parameters and serum concentrations of N-terminal peptide of type III procollagen, collagen type I or collagen type III. These results suggest that, in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, portal pressure may be estimated by serum concentration of laminin, and that perisinusoidal fibrosis, especially basement membrane thickening, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of portal hypertension in these patients.