Serum β-trophin level as a new marker for noninvasive assessment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis

Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016 Jan;28(1):57-63. doi: 10.1097/MEG.0000000000000502.

Abstract

Objective: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease and evaluation of fibrosis is important. We aimed to investigate the utility of serum β-trophin in NAFLD and its ability to predict liver fibrosis.

Patients and methods: Serum samples of consecutive patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and age-matched and sex-matched healthy controls were used to measure β-trophin using ELISA. Correlations between histopathological features of NAFLD and β-trophin were analyzed. Whereas patients with fibrosis scores less than 2 were grouped in the mild fibrosis group, patients with scores of 2 or more were grouped in the significant fibrosis group. Univariate/multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to evaluate the independent predicting factors of liver fibrosis. Receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) were assessed to determine the best cut-off values for NAFLD and fibrosis.

Results: Sixty-nine patients with NAFLD and 69 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Serum β-trophin levels were lower in NAFLD patients compared with the controls (2.34±0.06 vs. 1.94±0.09 ng/ml, respectively, P<0.001). In NAFLD, serum β-trophin was related to liver fibrosis and inflammation. The mild fibrosis group had higher serum β-trophin levels than the significant fibrosis group (2.11±0.12 vs. 1.72±0.11, respectively, P<0.001). In multivariate analysis, β-trophin remained an independent predictor of significant fibrosis (odds ratio, 0.237; 95% confidence interval, 0.059-0.949; P<0.001). ROC analysis showed that serum β-trophin was statistically significant in the identification of significant fibrosis (area under receiver operating characteristic, 0.844; 95% confidence interval, 0.718-0.970; P<0.001). The best cut-off value was 1.786, with the best sensitivity (71.43%) and specificity (95.65%).

Conclusion: Serum β-trophin may be a potential noninvasive marker for the identification of NAFLD and significant liver fibrosis.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Angiopoietin-Like Protein 8
  • Angiopoietin-like Proteins
  • Area Under Curve
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Liver Cirrhosis / diagnosis*
  • Liver Cirrhosis / etiology
  • Liver Cirrhosis / pathology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / blood*
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / complications
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / pathology
  • Peptide Hormones / blood*
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • ROC Curve
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • ANGPTL8 protein, human
  • Angiopoietin-Like Protein 8
  • Angiopoietin-like Proteins
  • Biomarkers
  • Peptide Hormones