Altered serum acylcarnitine profile is associated with the status of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and NAFLD-related hepatocellular carcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Metabolic disturbance of lipids is a hallmark of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In this study, we measured the serum levels of 15 acylcarnitine species of various carbon chain lengths from 2 to 18 in 241 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD, including 23 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and analyzed the relationship between serum acylcarnitine profile and NAFLD status. Long-chain acylcarnitines AC14:1 and AC18:1 increased gradually with the progression of fibrosis and further increased in patients with HCC, whereas the middle-chain acylcarnitine AC5:0 exhibited the opposite trend. In particular, AC18:1, which we previously showed to possess a tumor promoting effect, was significantly elevated in patients with HCC compared to those without HCC. In addition, long-chain a

SUBMITTER: Enooku K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6650415 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature