Serum laminin in hepatic schistosomiasis

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Abstract
Serum laminin levels were measured in patients with chronic hepatic schistosomiasis. A significant increase in the mean serum laminin level was observed in 14 patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis (2·57 ± 0·83 units/ml [standard deviation]) compared to the level in 10 patients with the hepatointestinal form of the disease (1·38 ± 0·45 units/ml) and in the control group of 10 (1·15 ± 0·31 units/ml). In the hepatosplenic patients there was a significant direct relation between serum laminin and percutaneous splenic pulp pressure (r = 0·68). However, this relation was not observed with either liver function tests or levels of N-terminal propeptides of type III procollagen. These findings are compatible with an increased production of laminin in hepatosplenic schistosomiasis, which may be related to the observed enlarged liver and spleen basement membranes in such disease.