Serum leptin and soluble leptin receptor in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the role of leptin system in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) development by delineating the changes in serum levels of leptin and soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R).


METHODS
Blood samples were collected from 30 consecutive patients with liver-biopsy-proven NAFLD and 30 patients with cholecystolithiasis (stationary phase) as controls. Serum leptin levels were determined by radioimmunoassay and concentration of sOB-R was measured by ELISA. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated for all subjects, and serum insulin, C-peptide, and lipoprotein levels were also detected.


RESULTS
Mean serum leptin level and BMI in the NAFLD group were significantly higher than in the controls (both P < 0.001), but mean sOB-R level was lower in the NAFLD group when compared to the controls. Both men and women in the NAFLD group had higher mean serum leptin levels and lower sOB-R levels than did the men and women in the control group (all P < 0.001). There was a significant negative correlation between serum leptin and sOB-R levels (r = -0.725, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that the percentage of hepatocyte steatosis, sex, BMI, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA IR) were independently related to serum leptin levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Elevated serum leptin seems to be a feature of steatosis, and serum leptin seems to increase as hepatocyte steatosis develops. An enhanced release of leptin is accompanied by an decrease in sOB-R concentration, which suggests higher resistance of peripheral tissues towards the action of leptin.
Huang
Xiao-Dong
XD
Department of Gastroenterology, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Wuhan 430014, Hubei Province, China. fanyanyanyan@163.com
Fan
Yan
Y
Zhang
Hen
H
Wang
Ping
P
Yuan
Jing-Ping
JP
Li
Ming-Jie
MJ
Zhan
Xi-Yan
XY
D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002096:C-Peptide / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054411:Receptors, Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D012727:Sex Characteristics
D002096:C-Peptide; D007328:Insulin; D020738:Leptin; D008074:Lipoproteins; D054411:Receptors, Leptin