Liver and Serum Adiponectin Levels in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Aim Adiponectin is an adipokine that is involved in regulating hepatic fat and glucose metabolism, and also has anti-steatotic, anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects. How these different activities impact the development and progression of NAFLD is not well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate both liver and serum adiponectin levels in patients with and without NAFLD and determine any clinical correlations. Methods Liver tissue and serum samples were collected from patients undergoing liver biopsy between April 2014 and July 2020, and categorized based on histopathologic diagnosis into hepatic steatosis (HS), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and hepatitis control (HC). Luminex® xMAP assay was performed on both liver and serum samples to measure adiponectin levels. Statistical analysis compared liver adiponectin (LA) and serum adiponectin (SA) levels between groups. Results 48 participants were included in the analysis with 4 in HS, 15 in NASH, and 29 in HC groups. The mean LA level was lowest in the HS group was 68.6% lower than that in the NASH group and 80.6% lower than that in the HC group (p=0.036). The mean SA level was 3.61 μg/ml for NAFLD group was significantly lower than that in the HC group, 7.51 μg/ml (p=0.001). Conclusion Adiponectin levels are lower in NAFLD compared to HC in both serum and in liver tissue. LA levels in HS patients were significantly lower than those both in NASH and HC groups, suggesting that adiponectin is related to inflammation in the liver, and probably reflects a role in pathogenesis of NAFLD. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.