Damaged collagen detected by collagen hybridizing peptide as efficient diagnosis marker for early hepatic fibrosis

Collagen hybridizing peptide (CHP) is a novel synthetic peptide, which can specifically bind to the unfolded triple-helical chains of all collagen types. We found that CHP could detect the collagen damage in chronic liver fibrosis at a very early stage of liver fibrosis. To further clarify whether fibrogenesis occurred in CHP-positive staining region, we extracted proteins from microdissected formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) liver tissues with or without CHP-positive staining for further proteome analysis. We found that pathways associated with ECM remodeling were significantly increased, while retinol metabolism was downregulated. Meanwhile, proteins enriched in cellular gene transcription and signal transduction involved in fibrogenesis were also upregulated, suggesting that fibrosis occurred in CHP-positive staining. Our study confirmed that CHP could detect the collagen damage in liver, which might be an efficient indicator for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis at a very early stage.