200 proteins which indicate diseases of liver

The biochemist Enrique Santamaria Martinez, a researcher in the area of genetic therapy and hepatology at the CIMA of the University of Navarra, has identified more than 200 proteins which can be considered as indicators of the progression of steatohepatitis and liver hepatitis. In addition, these proteins provide a basis for new lines of research which can develop clinical application strategies for improving the diagnosis and treatment of this cancer.

One of the biomarkers, in particular the oxidised form of the apolipoprotein A1, has been detected in the blood serum of liver cancer patients. For this reason it is especially relevant in the area of diagnosis.

Santamaria's work allows clinical practitioners to discover 'the alteration of proteins in the liver and, as a result, to discern the biological malfunctions associated with them, at a much earlier stage than permitted by conventional diagnostic methods alone'. This is the case with prohibitin, a protein involved in the generation of energy for the maintenance of cellular activity, or with regucalcin, a protein involved in the control of cellular ageing, among others.