OBJECTIVES this study aims to identify the potential marker for hepatic cystic echinococcosis (CE) activity. METHODS totally 97 CE patients and 47 health control (HC) subjects were included. Based on the ultrasound (US) images, CE patients were further categorized as active CE (ACE; 52 cases) and inactive CE (IACE; 45 cases). The sST2 and IL (interleukin)-33 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Univariate, multivariate and subgroup analysis were performed. The relationship between sST2 and CE activity was analyzed by the smooth curve fitting. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was also performed. RESULTS the serum sST2 level in the CE patients was significantly higher than the HC subjects. Moreover, there was significant difference in the serum sST2 level between the ACE and IACE group. However, no significant difference was observed in the IL-33 level between the ACE and IACE groups. Univariate analysis showed that CE activity was significantly correlated with the sST2 level when the sST2 was greater than 1496.6 pg/mL. Multivariable analysis after adjustment for potential confounding factors, and subgroup analysis showed that sST2 had independent effect on CE activity. ROC curve showed that sST2 could differentially diagnose CE activity at the cut-off value of 1246.550 pg/mL with an AUC of 0.770. CONCLUSION the sST2 could be used as a biomarker for hepatic CE activity. High levels of sST2 suggest that the hepatic CE is more likely to be active. Our findings have important guiding significance for the diagnosis of CE activity and the choice of treatment methods.

中文翻译：

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可溶性ST2（sST2）作为肝囊性棘球co虫病活性的潜在标志物。

目的本研究旨在鉴定肝囊性棘球co病（CE）活性的潜在标志物。方法纳入97例CE患者和47例健康控制（HC）对象。根据超声（US）图像，CE患者可进一步分为活动性CE（ACE； 52例）和非活动性CE（IACE； 45例）。sST2和IL（白介素）-33水平通过酶联免疫吸附法测定。进行单变量，多变量和亚组分析。通过平滑曲线拟合分析了sST2和CE活性之间的关系。还进行了接收器工作特性（ROC）曲线分析。结果CE患者的血清sST2水平明显高于HC患者。此外，ACE和IACE组之间的血清sST2水平存在显着差异。然而，ACE组和IACE组之间的IL-33水平无明显差异。单因素分析表明，当sST2大于1496.6 pg / mL时，CE活性与sST2水平显着相关。调整潜在混杂因素后的多变量分析和亚组分析表明，sST2对CE活性具有独立影响。ROC曲线显示，sST2可以在1246.550 pg / mL的临界值和0.770的AUC时对CE活性进行差异诊断。结论sST2可用作肝CE活性的生物标志物。sST2的高水平提示肝CE更可能活跃。我们的发现对CE活动的诊断和治疗方法的选择具有重要的指导意义。