Pro-inflammatory and Atherogenic Circulating Factors in Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Associated to Metabolic Syndrome.

LUCERO D; ZAGO V; LÓPEZ GI; GRAFFIGNA M; FAINBOIM H; MIKSZTOWICZ V; MEROÑO T; BELLI S; LEVALLE O; WIKINSKI R; BRITES F; BERG G; SCHREIER L

CLINICA CHIMICA ACTA

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2011 vol. 412 p. 143 - 147

0009-8981

Abstract BACKGROUND: It is not elucidated if liver fat deposits associated to metabolic syndrome (MS) aggravate the atherogenic state. We evaluated, in MS patients, if the presence of non-alcoholic hepatic steatosis (HS) determines differences in inflammatory markers and VLDL characteristics. METHODS: Seventy-five patients with MS were divided into 2 groups depending on the presence or absence of HS, assessed by ultrasound. Lipid profile, free fatty acids (FFA), VLDL composition, adiponectin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and soluble adhesion molecules (sVCAM-1 and sICAM-1) were measured. RESULTS: HS patients presented increased triglycerides levels, HOMA-IR and FFA. Patients with HS showed a reduction in adiponectin (p = 0.04) and increase in hs-CRP (p = 0.02), independently of insulin-resistance (IR). FFA correlated positively with TNF-α (p = 0.04) and inversely with adiponectin (p = 0.01). hs-CRP correlated with all inflammatory markers, independently of IR: TNF-α (r = 0.34, p = 0.02), sVCAM-1 (r = 0.29 p = 0.03), sICAM-1 (r = 0.56, p = 0.01), adiponectin (r = -0.34, p = 0.04). HS patients presented higher VLDL mass and number of particles. Adiponectin correlated with VLDL cholesterol content (r = -0.47, p = 0.04), independently of IR. VLDL, once secreted, would suffer from changes, becoming more atherogenic. CONCLUSIONS: Simple HS would play an important role increasing cardiovascular risk, independently of IR. hs-CRP may represent a useful biomarker of this condition