Objective To explore the diagnostic value and significance of human serum origin recognition complex protein 1 (ORC1) in the degree of hepatitis B (HBV)-related liver fibrosis.

Methods A total of 269 patients with HBV infection admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from November 2017 to October 2023 were enrolled in the long-term follow-up cohort. The transient elastography system FibroScan was used to detect liver stiffness value (LSM). According to the LSM value, they were divided into non-liver fibrosis group (n=69 cases), mild liver fibrosis group (n=107 cases), advanced liver fibrosis group (n=43 cases) and cirrhosis group (n=50 cases). The level of ORC1 in serum was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the related factors affecting serum ORC1 level in chronic HBV patients, multi-classification logistic regression was used to analyze the factors affecting the degree of liver fibrosis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive value of serum ORC1 in liver cirrhosis.

Results The serum ORC1 level in the advanced liver fibrosis group was higher than that in the non-liver fibrosis group (P < 0.05). The level of serum ORC1 in the liver cirrhosis group was higher than that in the non-liver fibrosis group and mild liver fibrosis group (all P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the non-liver fibrosis group and mild liver fibrosis group (P > 0.05). The level of serum ORC1 was positively correlated with LSM level (P < 0.05). The result of logistic regression analysis showed that the increasing age, increased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and serum ORC1 levels were risk factors for the progression of liver fibrosis (P < 0 05). The area under the ROC curve of serum ORC1 in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis was 0.644 (P < 0.05), the cutoff value was 1, 000.46 ng/L and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and consistency rate were 56.0%, 76.3%, 35.0%, 88.4%, and 72.5%, respectively.

Conclusion The level of serum ORC1 in patients with chronic HBV infection is related to the progression of liver fibrosis, and its elevated level increases the risk of progression of liver fibrosis. It is expected to become one of the potential serological markers for monitoring dynamically and diagnosing helpfully of HBV-related progression of liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis.