title: Plasma Pentraxin3 is a novel marker for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The changes in the liver in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) range over a wide spectrum, extending from steatosis to steatohepatitis (NASH). However it has remained difficult to differentiate between NASH and non-progressive NAFLD on the basis of the clinical findings alone.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In this study we investigated the clinical usefulness of plasma Pentraxin3 (PTX3) levels to predict NASH. Plasma PTX3 was measured in 70 patients with histologically verified NAFLD (28 with non-NASH and 42 with NASH) and 10 healthy control subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The plasma PTX3 level was significantly higher in the NASH cases than in the non-NASH cases (p = 0.0021) and control subjects (p = 0.045). And the plasma PTX3 level was significantly higher in the stages 3-4 NAFLD cases than in the stages 0-2 NAFLD cases (p < 0.0001). The PTX3 values were closely correlated with the stages of liver fibrosis (p < 0.0001, Kruskal-Wallis test). To detect NASH compared with non-NASH, the area under the curve for plasma PTX3 were 0.755, and to detect stages 3-4 NAFLD compared with stages 0-2 NAFLD, the area under the curve for plasma PTX3 were 0.850.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study to demonstrate consistent and profound elevation of plasma PTX3 levels in NASH in comparison with non-NASH. The results suggest that plasma PTX3 levels may not only be laboratory values that differentiate NASH from non-NASH, but marker of the severity of hepatic fibrosis in NASH.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9 Fuku-ura, Yokohama, Japan. yoneda@med.yokohama-cu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoneda
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uchiyama
authors.forename: Shingo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoneda
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mawatari
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iida
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kirikoshi
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inamori
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nozaki
authors.forename: Noritoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Kensuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maeyama
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sagara
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aburatani
authors.forename: Tatsuhiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kodama
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakajima
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018450:Disease Progression; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component / Q000378:metabolism*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D000099153:Pentraxins
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component; D000099153:Pentraxins