Liver and serum adiponectin levels in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective Adiponectin is an adipokine that has anti-steatotic, anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects. The impact of these different activities impact on the development and progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is not well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate both liver and serum adiponectin levels in patients with and without NAFLD and determine any clinical correlations. Methods Liver tissue and serum samples were collected from patients undergoing liver biopsy between April 2014 and July 2020, and categorized based on histopathological diagnosis into hepatic steatosis (HS), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and hepatitis control (HC). A Luminex xMAP assay was performed on both liver and serum samples to measure adiponectin levels. Statistical analysis compared liver adiponectin (LA) and serum adiponectin (SA) levels between groups. Results A total of 48 participants were included in the analysis. The mean LA level was lowest in the HS group, followed by the NASH group and the HC group (P = 0.036). The mean SA level was 3.61 mu g/mL for the NAFLD group and was significantly lower than that in the HC (7.51 mu g/mL; P = 0.001). Conclusion Adiponectin levels are lower in NAFLD compared to HC in both serum and liver tissue. LA levels in patients with HS were significantly lower than in both the NASH and HC groups, suggesting that adiponectin is related to inflammation in the liver and probably reflects its role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.