Circulating Levels of Pro-Neurotensin and Its Relationship with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis and Hepatic Lipid Metabolism

Identifier:  imarina:9220621

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina9220621

Authors:  Villar, Beatriz; Bertran, Laia; Aguilar, Carmen; Binetti, Jessica; Martinez, Salome; Sabench, Fatima; Real, Monica; Riesco, David; Paris, Marta; Del Castillo, Daniel; Richart, Cristobal; Auguet, Teresa

Abstract:
Recent studies suggest a link between pro-neurotensin (pro-NT) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but the published data are conflicting. Thus, we aimed to analyze pro-NT levels in women with morbid obesity (MO) and NAFLD to investigate if this molecule is involved in NAFLD and liver lipid metabolism. Plasma levels of pro-NT were determined in 56 subjects with MO and 18 with normal weight (NW). All patients with MO were subclassified according to their liver histology into the normal liver (NL, n = 20) and NAFLD (n = 36) groups. The NAFLD group had 17 subjects with simple steatosis (SS) and 19 with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We used a chemiluminescence sandwich immunoassay to quantify pro-NT in plasma and RT-qPCR to evaluate the hepatic mRNA levels of several lipid metabolism-related genes. We reported that pro-NT levels were significantly higher in MO with NAFLD than in MO without NAFLD. Additionally, pro-NT levels were higher in NASH patients than in NL. The hepatic expression of lipid metabolism-related genes was found to be altered in NAFLD, as previously reported. Additionally, although pro-NT levels correlated with LDL, there was no association with the main lipid metabolism-related genes. These findings suggest that pro-NT could be related to NAFLD progression.