title: Serum β-trophin level as a new marker for noninvasive assessment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease and evaluation of fibrosis is important. We aimed to investigate the utility of serum β-trophin in NAFLD and its ability to predict liver fibrosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum samples of consecutive patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and age-matched and sex-matched healthy controls were used to measure β-trophin using ELISA. Correlations between histopathological features of NAFLD and β-trophin were analyzed. Whereas patients with fibrosis scores less than 2 were grouped in the mild fibrosis group, patients with scores of 2 or more were grouped in the significant fibrosis group. Univariate/multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to evaluate the independent predicting factors of liver fibrosis. Receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) were assessed to determine the best cut-off values for NAFLD and fibrosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-nine patients with NAFLD and 69 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Serum β-trophin levels were lower in NAFLD patients compared with the controls (2.34±0.06 vs. 1.94±0.09 ng/ml, respectively, P<0.001). In NAFLD, serum β-trophin was related to liver fibrosis and inflammation. The mild fibrosis group had higher serum β-trophin levels than the significant fibrosis group (2.11±0.12 vs. 1.72±0.11, respectively, P<0.001). In multivariate analysis, β-trophin remained an independent predictor of significant fibrosis (odds ratio, 0.237; 95% confidence interval, 0.059-0.949; P<0.001). ROC analysis showed that serum β-trophin was statistically significant in the identification of significant fibrosis (area under receiver operating characteristic, 0.844; 95% confidence interval, 0.718-0.970; P<0.001). The best cut-off value was 1.786, with the best sensitivity (71.43%) and specificity (95.65%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum β-trophin may be a potential noninvasive marker for the identification of NAFLD and significant liver fibrosis.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Gastroenterology, Dr. A.Y. Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital bDepartment of Gastroenterology cDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cengiz
authors.forename: Seren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozenirler
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kocabiyik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000091306:Angiopoietin-Like Protein 8; D000075802:Angiopoietin-like Proteins; D019540:Area Under Curve; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C576683:ANGPTL8 protein, human; D000091306:Angiopoietin-Like Protein 8; D000075802:Angiopoietin-like Proteins; D015415:Biomarkers; D036361:Peptide Hormones