Myofibroblastic cell activation and neovascularization predict native liver survival and development of esophageal varices in biliary atresia

Table 3 Hepatic expression of collagen 1, α-smooth muscle actin and CD34 in biliary atresia (n = 27) at the time of portoenterostomy and in control (n = 35) livers

	Clearance of jaundice		2-yr native liver survival		Esophageal varices		All BA patients	Controls
	Yes	No	NL	LT	Yes	No
Collagen 1	14.7 (4.9)	18.5 (5.4)	13.7 (3.5)	18.6 (5.4)	17.2 (4.9)	14.6 (5.0)	16.4 (5.4)	4.5 (2.2)
Area, % (SD)	P = 0.079		P = 0.024		P = 0.217		P < 0.0001
α-SMA	16.4 (5.1)	19.8 (4.8)	15.4 (4.9)	20.4 (4.2)	18.2 (4.3)	17.1 (6.1)	17.9 (5.2)	4.6 (1.9)
Area, % (SD)	P = 0.097		P = 0.009		P = 0.537		P < 0.0001
CD34	4.4 (1.4)	5.6 (2.4)	4.0 (0.9)	5.9 (2.4)	5.6 (2.0)	4.0 (1.6)	4.9 (2.0)	3.8 (1.0)
Area, %	P = 0.213		P = 0.029		P = 0.019		P = 0.017

Data presented as mean and SD. Comparisons between groups were performed with Mann-Whitney U-test. BA: Biliary atresia; PE: Portoenterostomy; NL: Native liver; LT: Liver transplant; α-SMA: α-smooth muscle actin.