Objective: The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is high both in the general population and in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), while studies on its etiopathogenesis are still ongoing. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between the ultrasound grade of liver steatosis and serum levels of hepassocin (HPS) and thioredoxin domain-containing protein 5 (TXNDC5) in patients with T2DM.
Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study included 156 participants who were divided into four groups: isolated NAFLD, isolated T2DM, both NAFLD and T2DM, and healthy controls. The demographic data as well as the physical characteristics, laboratory findings, and ultrasonographic grades of liver steatosis of the participants were evaluated between all groups.
Results: According to ultrasound examinations, HPS values were significantly higher in patients with grade 1 and 2 liver steatosis than in patients without liver steatosis. HPS levels were significantly higher in the vast majority of participants, including healthy controls than in those with isolated T2DM. No significant differences were found between HPS and diabetes. There was no significant correlation between TXNDC5 serum levels and ultrasound results in all groups.
Conclusions: In the present study, our results show that serum HPS levels were higher in individuals with liver steatosis than in individuals without liver steatosis. These results provide further evidence for the association of HPS with NAFLD and expand our understanding of its potential role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD. In addition, our study can be considered one of the first studies in the literature to investigate the association between ultrasonographic hepatic steatosis and serum HPS levels.
Key words: Hepassocin; TXNDC5; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Ultrasonography
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