Association of circulating preptin with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A case-control study

Abstract

Background/Aim: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic component of metabolic disorders and identifying patients with a high risk of fibrosis is crucial. A scoring system, the FIB-4 score, based on clinical and biochemical parameters was developed to predict fibrosis. NAFLD is associated with various peptide hormones. However, the relationship of preptin, a newly discovered peptide critical for regulating energy metabolism, with NAFLD remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to determine the relationship of preptin with NAFLD and evaluate whether there was an association between serum preptin levels and FIB-4 score. Methods: In this prospective study, serum biochemical parameters and serum preptin levels of 51 patients with grade 2-3 hepatosteatosis proven by ultrasonography and 35 healthy controls with similar demographic characteristics were compared. Serum preptin levels were measured using ELISA. The FIB-4 scores were calculated and recorded. Results: The serum preptin levels were higher in the NAFLD group than in the control cases (P