Identifying nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients with active fibrosis by measuring extracellular matrix remodeling rates in tissue and blood.

ABSTRACT: Excess collagen synthesis (fibrogenesis) in the liver plays a causal role in the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods are needed to identify patients with more rapidly progressing disease and to demonstrate early response to treatment. We describe here a novel method to quantify hepatic fibrogenesis flux rates both directly in liver tissue and noninvasively in blood. Twenty-one patients with suspected NAFLD ingested heavy water (² H₂ O, 50-mL aliquots) two to three times daily for 3-5 weeks prior to a clinically indicated liver biopsy. Liver collagen fractional synthesis rate (FSR) and plasma lumican FSR were measured based on ² H labeling using tandem mass spectrometry. Patients were classified by histology for fibrosis stage (F

SUBMITTER: Decaris ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5516243 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature