Serum retinol-binding protein 4 is inversely correlated with disease severity of chronic hepatitis C

Background/Aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection carries a significant risk for development of insulin resistance (IR) and/or diabetes mellitus. Recently, retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) has been reported as a protein contributing to IR. This study aimed to assess the correlation between RBP4 and disease severity of chronic HCV infection (CHC). Methotls:Serum RBP4 was measured in 105 treatment-naive CHC patients and its correlation with the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), liver histology, virology and metabolic factors was investigated. Patients were stratified into different stages of glucose tolerance by oral glucose tolerance test. Results:There was a significant decreasing linear trend of RBP4 dependent on both histological grading (from 35.8 +/- 16.5 mu g/ml. of minimal to 19.2 +/- 12.5 mu g/mL of severe, P = 0.002) and staging (from 34.2 +/- 10.0 mu g/mL of F0 to 22.2 +/- 11.9 mu/mL of F3-4, P = 0.02) progression, whilst a significant increment of HOMA-IR was found. Multivariate regression analysis showed BMI (1.1, 95% CI 0.44 similar to 1.77, P = 0.001), HDL-C (-0.40, 95%, CI -0.73 similar to -0.06, P = 0.02), and LDL-C (0.31, 95%, CI 0.02 similar to 0.61, P = 0.04) were the significant variables for prediction of RBP4. Conclusions: Disease severity may limit the role of RBP4 as a predictor of IR in CHC. (C) 2008 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.