Relation between body fat and liver fat accumulation and cytokine pattern in non-alcoholic patients with chronic HCV infection.
BACKGROUND
Liver steatosis in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is multifactorial. Therefore, there is not necessarily a relation between obesity and liver fat.On the other hand, body fat secretes cytokines, and cytokines and oxidative damage play important roles on progression of liver disease.


METHODS
We analyzed the relationships between liver fat (assessed by histomorphometry) and trunk and subcutaneous fat (waist perimeter, triceps skinfold, BMI); the relationships between liver and body fat and cytokines (IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-8, IFN-gamma, IL-4), adipokines (adiponectin and TIMP-1), and serum malondiladehyde and antioxidants (glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities); and the relationships of these data with histological changes in 40 HCV-infected non-alcoholic patients.


RESULTS
Significant correlations were found between liver fat and waist perimeter and BMI, and between serum TIMP-1 and liver fat. Serum TIMP-1 was significantly related to body fat stores; serum IL-6 and IFN-gamma were related to histological inflammation. Patients with waist perimeter >102 cm (men) or 88 cm (women) showed increased liver fat. In 38.8% of non-obese patients, liver fat accumulation was intense.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a relationship between visceral fat, serum TIMP-1 and liver steatosis. However, at least in some patients, factors different from mere adiposity play a role in liver steatosis.
Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Ofra s/n, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. egonrey@ull.es
E
E
González-Reimers
A
A
Castellano-Higuera
R
R
Alemán-Valls
H
H
Alvarez-Argüelles
M J
MJ
de la Vega-Prieto
P
P
Abreu-González
J
J
López-Prieto
F
F
Santolaria-Fernández
F
F
Valladares-Parrilla
D054392:Adipokines / Q000097:blood*; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D019715:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 / Q000097:blood; D055105:Waist Circumference
D054392:Adipokines; D016207:Cytokines; D019715:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1