Abstract
Objective Main aim of this study was to evaluate circulating selenoprotein P (SEPP) levels
in patients with simple steatosis (SS) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) compared
with healthy controls.
Methods Thirty-one patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD (15 with SS, 10 with borderline NASH,
6 with definite NASH) and 27 matched controls without NAFLD were enrolled. Serum SEPP
levels and liver function tests plus biochemical parameters were measured with ELISA
and standard methods, respectively. Homeostatic model of assessment - insulin resistance
(HOMA-IR) was calculated.
Results SEPP levels were statistically different between groups (p-value for trend=0.043).
In pairwise comparisons, SEPP was lower in definite NASH compared with controls (p=0.029),
but not SS (p=0.18) or borderline NASH (p=0.35). SEPP was not different between controls,
SS and borderline NASH. The unadjusted trend between the controls, SS and NASH patients
remained essentially unchanged after adjustment for age, sex, log(ALT) and waist circumference,
but it marginally lost significance when log(HOMA-IR) entered into the model. SEPP
levels were not different between groups of different severity of steatosis, fibrosis,
hepatocellular ballooning, lobular and portal inflammation.
Conclusions Lower SEPP levels were observed in patients with definite NASH compared with controls,
a finding warranting larger studies.
Key words
inflammation - nonalcoholic fatty liver disease - nonalcoholic steatohepatitis - noninvasive
index - selenium - selenoprotein P