Afamin and Adropin in Patients with Alcohol-Induced Liver Cirrhosis

Abstract

Introduction: Liver cirrhosis develops in about 10% of alcohol abusers. To date, a number of cells and cytokines have been identified, which are involved in induction of liver fibrotic processes. Nevertheless, the pathogenesis of liver cirrhosis has not been fully elucidated. The aim of the present study was to determine serum concentrations of afamin and adropin in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis and to define their correlation with the stage of disease. Materials and methods: The study included 99 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis from the region of Lublin, (Eastern Poland). Liver cirrhosis was diagnosed based on clinical features, history of heavy alcohol consumption, laboratory tests and abdominal ultrasonography. The control group consisted of 20 healthy individuals without liver disease who did not abuse alcohol. The serum afamin and adropin concentrations were determined using ELISA kits. Results: The concentration of afamin was found to be significantly lower in patients with compensated alcoholic liver cirrhosis, i.e. P-Ch B (85.1±40.6 μg/ml) and P-Ch C (56.4±32.3 μg/ml) individuals, as compared to the control group (135.9±43.6 μg/ml); p-value was <0.01 and <0.001, respectively. As far as adropin is concerned, a reverse relationship was demonstrated: the highest concentration was found in patients with P-Ch C (11.7±5.7 ng/ml) cirrhosis. Furthermore, the above concentration was significantly higher compared to patients with P-Ch A cirrhosis (7.2±2.8 ng/ml; p<0.05) and controls (7.5±2.6 ng/ml; p<0.05). Conclusions: The concentration of afamin decreases with the severity of alcoholic liver cirrhosis, which most likely results from impaired hepatic synthesis. Otherwise, the higher the stage of disease according to the Child-Pugh score, the higher the concentration of adropin.

Serum Afamin a Novel Marker of Increased Hepatic Lipid Content

“…Although liver is the main source of circulating afamin, there are no functional studies on afamin using human or animal liver cell models. Several publications have reported decreased afamin blood concentrations associated with severe alcoholic liver cirrhosis ( 18 ) and with liver cancer ( 27 , 28 ). In our study, we found a strong positive association between serum afamin and hepatic lipid content, which we observed in two independent study populations.…”

“…Excessive hepatic lipid accumulation is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hepatic insulin resistance and, increased risk of T2D. However, severe alcoholic liver cirrhosis is associated with a decline in serum afamin, perhaps due to impaired hepatic synthesis ( 18 ). Evidence evaluating a possible role of afamin as a marker of hepatic lipid accumulation and liver disease in a context of obesity and type 2 diabetes is not available.…”