ABSTRACT

Objectives

Nonalcoholic fatty disease (NAFLD) affects 3–10% of the pediatric population, making it the most common chronic liver disease among children. The aim of the study is to identify potential biomarkers enabling the diagnosis of NAFLD and monitoring the course of the disease.

Methods

Proteome analysis was performed in a group of 30 patients (19 boys and 11 girls) in total, of whom 16 children had previously diagnosed NAFLD based on the abdominal ultrasound after excluding other diseases of this organ.

Results

A total of 297 proteins have been identified. Thirty-seven proteins (responsible for inflammation, stress response, and regulation of this process) differentiating both experimental groups were identified. Up-regulated proteins included afamin, retinol-binding protein-4, complement components, and hemopexin; while serum protease inhibitors, clusterin, immunoglobulin chains, and vitamin D binding protein were found in the down-regulated group.

The correlation between selected proteins and indicators of noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis (APRI, FIB-4) as well as differences between the serum proteome of patients with normal weight, overweight, and obesity were also assessed.

Conclusion

The plasma protein profile is significantly altered in nonalcoholic liver disease in children and may prove to be a valuable source of biomarkers to evaluate the extent of liver disease.

中文翻译：

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儿童非酒精性脂肪性肝病的血清蛋白质组评估：一项初步研究。

摘要

目标

非酒精性脂肪病 (NAFLD) 影响 3-10% 的儿科人群，使其成为儿童中最常见的慢性肝病。该研究的目的是确定能够诊断 NAFLD 和监测疾病进程的潜在生物标志物。

方法

对一组共30名患者（19名男孩和11名女孩）进行蛋白质组分析，其中16名儿童在排除该器官的其他疾病后，根据腹部超声诊断为NAFLD。

结果

共鉴定了 297 种蛋白质。确定了区分两个实验组的 37 种蛋白质（负责炎​​症、应激反应和该过程的调节）。上调的蛋白质包括 afamin、视黄醇结合蛋白 4、补体成分和血红素结合蛋白；而在下调组中发现血清蛋白酶抑制剂、凝聚素、免疫球蛋白链和维生素 D 结合蛋白。

还评估了所选蛋白质与肝纤维化无创评估指标（APRI、FIB-4）之间的相关性以及正常体重、超重和肥胖患者血清蛋白质组之间的差异。

结论

儿童非酒精性肝病的血浆蛋白谱显着改变，可能被证明是评估肝病程度的重要生物标志物来源。