title: Elevated plasma sphingomyelin (d18:1/22:0) is closely related to hepatic steatosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.
abstract: Hepatic steatosis affects disease progression in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We investigated the plasma sphingolipid profile in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and whether there was an association between HCV-related steatosis and plasma sphingolipids. We used high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) to analyze plasma sphingolipids in 120 interferon-naïve, non-diabetic, and non-obese CHC patients. Hepatic steatosis was defined as ≥5 % hepatocytes with fat based on histopathological analysis. Blood biochemical indicators and HCV load and genotype were also determined. Thirty-six (30.0 %) of 120 patients presented with hepatic steatosis Grades 1-3. Forty-four plasma sphingolipids were detected. Plasma sphingomyelin (SM) (d18:1/22:0) and ceramide (Cer) (d18:1/24:0)-1-P correlated with steatosis grade (r = 0.22, p = 0.015; r = -0.23, p = 0.012, respectively). SM (d18:1/22:0) [odds ratio (OR) = 1.12] and Cer (d18:1/24:0)-1-P (OR = 0.88) were independent factors for the presence of hepatic steatosis in CHC patients. The area under the curve (AUC) of SM (d18:1/22:0) and Cer (d18:1/24:0)-1-P was 0.637 and 0.638, respectively, to identify the presence of steatosis. Further analysis for genotype 2 CHC showed that only SM (d18:1/22:0) was independently linked to steatosis (OR = 1.21). The AUC of SM (d18:1/22:0) to identify hepatic steatosis in genotype 2 CHC was 0.726. Its sensitivity and negative predictive value reached 0.813 and 0.886, respectively. This study suggested that altered plasma SM (d18:1/22:0) was closely related to hepatic steatosis in chronic HCV infection, especially with genotype 2. Experimental studies are needed to determine further the underlying mechanisms responsible for these associations.
authors.affiliation: Artificial Liver Center, Beijing YouAn Hospital, Capital Medical University, 8 Xitoutiao, Youwai Street, Beijing, 100069, China.
authors.forename: J-F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: S-J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: H-L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Z-P
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: J-L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010949:Plasma / Q000737:chemistry*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013109:Sphingomyelins / Q000097:blood*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D013109:Sphingomyelins