Adipokines, cytokines and body fat stores in hepatitis C virus liver steatosis

Aim: To identify patients with or without liver steatosis and its severity in treatment-naïve patients affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Methods: We included 56 HCV infected patients, and assessed the amount of liver fat by histomorphometry, and its relationships with fat and lean mass at different parts of the body (by densitometry), hormones [insulin, homeostatic model assessment (HOMA)], adipokines (resistin, adiponectin, leptin), and cytokines (tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-6).

Results: Although the intensity of liver steatosis is related to trunk fat mass and HOMA, 33% of patients showed no liver steatosis, and this finding was not related to body mass index or genotype. Besides trunk fat mass, no other factor was related to the presence or not of liver steatosis, or to the intensity of it, by multivariate analysis. Lean mass was not related to liver steatosis. Adiponectin levels were lower among patients. No differences were observed in leptin and resistin.

Conclusion: Steatosis in HCV infection is common (67.2%), and closely related to trunk fat, and insulin resistance, but not with leg fat mass or adipokines.