title: Plasma Pentraxin 3 Differentiates Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) from Non-NASH.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes a variety of histopathological findings ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) which can only be differentiated by liver biopsy. There is yet no unique biomarker found to discriminate NASH from simple steatosis.We aimed to investigate the relationship of plasma pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and its main stimulant tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) with the degree of liver damage in NAFLD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plasma PTX3 and TNF-α levels were measured in 70 patients with histologically verified NAFLD (56 with NASH, 14 with non-NASH) and 12 controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PTX3 and TNF-α levels were found significantly higher in the NAFLD group than in the control group (4.1 ± 2.3 vs. 1.3 ± 0.8 ng/mL, P < 0.001, and 7.6 ± 4.1 vs. 3.3 ± 1.3 pg/mL, P < 0.001 respectively) and in biopsy proven NASH subgroup than non-NASH subgroup (4.6 ± 2.2 vs. 2.2 ± 1.7 ng/mL, P = 0.001, and 8.3 ± 4.3 vs. 4.6 ± 1.6 pg/mL, P = 0.001 respectively). To discriminate NASH from non-NASH PTX3 had 91.1% sensitivity and 71.4% specificity at the cutoff value of 2.45 ng/mL. Plasma PTX3 levels showed correlation with NAFLD activity score, fibrosis stage and steatosis grade (r = 0.659, P < 0.001; r = 0.354, P < 0.01; and r = 0.455, P < 0.001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated markedly higher PTX3 levels in NAFLD patients compared with controls, and in biopsy proven NASH patients compared with non-NASH ones. Thus, in this cohort we showed that plasma PTX3 may be a promising biomarker for the presence of NASH.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Gastroenterology, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul, Turkey .
authors.forename: Salih
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boga
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Gastroenterology, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul, Turkey .
authors.forename: Ali Riza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Koksal
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Gastroenterology, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul, Turkey .
authors.forename: Huseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alkim
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Pathology, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul, Turkey .
authors.forename: Muveddet Banu
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Yilmaz Ozguven
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Gastroenterology, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul, Turkey .
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bayram
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Gastroenterology, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul, Turkey .
authors.forename: Meltem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ergun
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Gastroenterology, Istanbul Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul, Turkey .
authors.forename: Gurhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sisman
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Biochemistry, Bakirkoy Dr. Sadi Konuk Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sebnem
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tekin Neijmann
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Gastroenterology, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul, Turkey .
authors.forename: Canan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alkim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001706:Biopsy; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component / Q000032:analysis*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood; D015854:Up-Regulation; D000099153:Pentraxins
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D000099153:Pentraxins