Efficacy of Tumor Necrosis Factor and Interleukin-10 Analysis in the Follow-up of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Progression

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) is a cytokine involved in systemic inflammation during acute phase reactions. The current study was designed to investigate the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α) along with the anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) during progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) from simple steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fibrosis in diabetic patients, and correlate the levels of cytokines with the progression of NAFLD. Fifty-two diabetic patients compared to 18 healthy controls were participated in this study. Based on clinical diagnosis, patients were divided into three groups: simple steatosis, NASH and fibrosis. Serum liver function tests, fasting blood glucose, bilirubin, ALT, AST, TNF-α, IL-10 and lipid profile were measured. TNF-α levels were significantly higher in NAFLD patients compared to control subjects with a significant positive correlation with body mass index and fasting blood glucose (FBG) but with negative correlation with IL-10. Serum IL-10 levels were significantly lower in NAFLD patients compared with controls. A positive correlation between IL-10 and HDL-C with concomitant negative correlation between IL-10 and FBG and triacylglycerides was found. Cytokine analyses showed that there was a prominent imbalance between TNF-α and IL-10 in patients with NAFLD, and this imbalance increase by increasing the progression of NAFLD especially in obese diabetic patients. TNF-α and IL-10 could be used in diagnosis and follow-up of NAFLD stages in a way to avoid liver biopsies in greater proportion of patients.