Maternal serum Sortilin-1 level as a potential biomarker for intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Objective: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is the most common liver disease related to pregnancy in women. Sortilin-1 is a sorting receptor belonging to the vacuolar protein sorting 10 (Vps10p) domain family, and recent studies have shown that Sortilin-1 has a distinct role in the pathogenesis of biliary fibrosis and cirrhosis. We aimed to evaluate maternal serum Sortilin-1 level as a potential biomarker in pregnant women with intrahepatic cholestasis.Materials and methods: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted. We enrolled 80 pregnant women, 49 with the diagnosis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy and 31 healthy controls. Then, we measured maternal serum Sortilin-1 levels using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method and compared them between groups.Results: The mean Sortilin-1 level in the ICP group was higher than control group (3.3 ± 1.7 ng/mL vs. 2.0 ± 0.6 ng/mL, respectively, p < .001). The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis based on maternal serum Sortilin-1 levels to predict the presence of ICP was 85.3% controls [area under the curve (AUC), 0.853; 95% CI, 0.738–0.938, p < .001]. The optimal cutoff value of Sortilin-1 was 2.24 ng/mL (71.4% sensitivity and 74.2% specificity) to detect intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.Conclusion: Elevated maternal serum Sortilin-1 levels are associated with ICP and can be used as a disease biomarker. Sortilin-1 levels can be combined with total bile acids, transaminases, and blood coagulation profile in the follow-up of ICP.