Association of 1-deoxy-sphingolipids with steatosis but not steatohepatitis nor fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most important cause of chronic liver disease in the western world. Steatosis can be accompanied by inflammation and cell damage (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, NASH), and even liver fibrosis. Sphingolipids are a heterogeneous class of lipids and essential components of the plasma membrane and plasma lipoproteins. The atypical class of deoxy-sphingolipids has been implicated in the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

AIM:

To determine if circulating (deoxy)sphingolipids are associated with NAFLD and its different entities, steatosis, inflammatory changes (inflammation and ballooning) and fibrosis.

METHODS:

Sphingolipids were analysed by LC-MS after hydrolysing the N-acyl and O-linked headgroups in plasma of obese adults who underwent a liver biopsy in suspicion of NAFLD.

RESULTS:

Two-hundred and eighty-eight patients were included. There was no association between typical sphingolipids and NAFLD and its different entities. There was a significant association between the presence of steatosis and the concentrations of deoxy-sphinganine [exp(B) 11.163 with CI (3.432, 36.306) and p < 0.001] and deoxy-sphingosine [exp(B) 8.486 with CI (3.437, 20.949) and p < 0.001]. There was no association between these deoxy-sphingolipids and activity of the steatohepatitis, nor was there any association with fibrosis. Differences in deoxy-sphingolipids also correlated independently with the presence of the metabolic syndrome, but not diabetes.

CONCLUSION:

Deoxy-sphingolipids are elevated in patients with steatosis compared to those without fatty liver, but not different between the different NAFLD subtypes, suggesting that deoxy-sphingolipid bases might be involved in steatogenesis, but not in the further progression of NAFLD to NASH nor in fibrogenesis.

• Authors: J Weyler, A Verrijken, T Hornemann, L Vonghia, E Dirinck, A von Eckardstein, T Vanwolleghem, P Michielsen, F Peiffer, A Driessen, G Hubens, B Staels, S Francque, L Van Gaal
• Journal: Acta diabetologica (Acta Diabetol) Vol. 58 Issue 3 Pg. 319-327 (Mar 2021) ISSN: 1432-5233 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 33084982 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Sphingolipids

Topics

• Adult
• Belgium (epidemiology)
• Biopsy
• Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 (blood, complications, epidemiology, pathology)
• Disease Progression
• End Stage Liver Disease (blood, diagnosis, epidemiology, pathology)
• Fatty Liver (blood, diagnosis, epidemiology, pathology)
• Female
• Humans
• Liver (pathology)
• Liver Cirrhosis (blood, diagnosis, epidemiology, pathology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (blood, diagnosis, epidemiology, pathology)
• Obesity (blood, complications, epidemiology, pathology)
• Prognosis
• Sphingolipids (blood)