Betatrophin Levels Are Related to the Early Histological Findings in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - PubMed (original) (raw)

doi: 10.3390/metabo11070425.

Teoman Dogru 2, Cemal Nuri Ercin 3, Halil Genc 4, Gurkan Celebi 3, Hasan Gurel 5, Serkan Tapan 6, Ali Fuat Cicek 7, Cem Barcin 8, Cem Haymana 9, Ali Kirik 10, Manfredi Rizzo 11 12

Affiliations

Alper Sonmez et al. Metabolites. 2021.

Abstract

Betatrophin, a liver hormone, regulates glucose and lipid metabolism. We investigated the betatrophin levels in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and searched for any relationship with histological severity and metabolic parameters. Fifty males with NAFLD [Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) (n = 32); non-NASH (n = 18)] and 30 healthy controls were included. Plasma betatrophin was measured by ELISA method. Insulin sensitivity was assessed by HOMA-IR index. Histological features were scored by the semi quantitative classification and combined as the NAFLD activity score (NAS). Betatrophin levels in the non-NASH group were significantly higher than the controls. Betatrophin was positively correlated to the age, waist circumference, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR index and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase levels, and negatively correlated to the steatosis and NAS. In the stepwise linear regression analysis, the triglyceride (β = 0.457, p < 0.001), glucose (β = 0.281, p = 0.02) and NAS (β = -0.260, p = 0.03) were the independent determinants of betatrophin. Betatrophin levels are higher in the early stages of NAFLD and tend to decrease when the disease progresses. This could be an important preliminary mechanistic finding to explain the increased frequency of glucose intolerance during the course of NAFLD.

Keywords: betatrophin; glucose intolerance; insulin resistance; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the current research was conducted independently, in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Prof. Rizzo is full-time Professor of Internal Medicine at Univerity of Palermo, Italy and currently Medical Director, Novo Nordisk Eastern Europe; he has given lectures, received honoraria and research support, and participated in conferences, advisory boards and clinical trials sponsored by many pharmaceutical companies including Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Kowa, Eli Lilly, Meda, Mylan, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Roche Diagnostics, Sanofi and Servier. Prof. Sonmez has received honoraria and research support, and participated in conferences, advisory boards and clinical trials sponsored by many pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Eli Lilly and Sanofi. None of the above had any role in this article, which has been written independently, without any financial or professional help, and reflects only the opinion of the authors, without any role of the industry.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

The comparison of the Betatrophin levels between the study groups. Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.05 is significant; NS: Nonsignificant; *: The outliers.

Figure 2

Figure 2

The main findings of the study showing the positive correlates and independent predictors of the Betatrophin levels and the differences between the study groups. Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.05 is significant; NS: Nonsignificant; n: Number; WC: Waist circumference; TG:Triglycerides; TC: Total Cholesterol; LDL-C: Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol; FPG: Fasting Blood Glucose; HOMA-IR: Homaistasis model assessment of insulin resistance; GGT: Gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, NAS: NAFLD activity score.

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