| 1. |
- Baselli, Guido A, et al.
(författare)
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Rare ATG7 genetic variants predispose patients to severe fatty liver disease.
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of hepatology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1600-0641 .- 0168-8278. ; 77:3, s. 596-606
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of liver disorders and has a strong heritable component. The aim of this study was to identify new loci contributing to severe NAFLD by examining rare variants.We performed whole-exome sequencing in individuals with NAFLD and advanced fibrosis or hepatocellular carcinoma (n=301) and examined the enrichment of likely pathogenic rare variants vs. the general population, followed by validation at gene level.In patients with severe NAFLD, we observed an enrichment of the p.P426L variant (rs143545741 C>T; OR 5.26, 2.1-12.6; p=0.003) of autophagy-related 7 (ATG7), which we characterized as a loss-of-function, vs. the general population, and an enrichment in rare variants affecting the catalytic domain (OR 13.9, 1.9-612; p=0.002). In the UK Biobank cohort, loss-of-function ATG7 variants increased the risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (OR 3.30, 1.1-7.5 and OR 12.30, 2.6-36, respectively; p<0.001 for both). The low-frequency loss-of-function p.V471A variant (rs36117895 T>C) was also associated with severe NAFLD in the clinical cohort (OR=1.7, 1.2-2.5; p=0.003), predisposed to hepatocellular ballooning (p=0.007) evolving to fibrosis in a Liver biopsy cohort (n=2268), and was associated with liver injury in the UK Biobank (AST levels, p<0.001), with a larger effect in severely obese individuals where it was linked to hepatocellular carcinoma (p=0.009). ATG7 protein localized to periportal hepatocytes, more so in the presence of ballooning. In the Liver Transcriptomic cohort (n=125) ATG7 expression correlated with suppression of the TNFα pathway, which was conversely upregulated in p.V471A carriers.We identified rare and low-frequency ATG7 loss-of-function variants as modifiers of NAFLD progression by impairing autophagy and facilitating ballooning and inflammation.•We found that rare mutations in a gene called autophagy related (ATG7) increase the risk of developing severe liver disease in individuals with dysmetabolism. •These mutations cause an alteration in protein function and impairment of self-renewal of cellular content, leading to liver damage and inflammation.
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| 2. |
- Bianco, Cristina, et al.
(författare)
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Non-invasive stratification of hepatocellular carcinoma risk in non-alcoholic fatty liver using polygenic risk scores.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of hepatology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1600-0641 .- 0168-8278. ; 74:4, s. 775-782
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk stratification in individuals with dysmetabolism is a major unmet need. Genetic predisposition contributes to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to exploit robust polygenic risk scores (PRS) that can be evaluated in the clinic to gain insight into the causal relationship between NAFLD and HCC, and to improve HCC risk stratification.We examined at-risk individuals (NAFLD cohort, n=2,566; 226 with HCC; and a replication cohort of 427 German patients with NAFLD) and the general population (UK Biobank [UKBB] cohort, n=364,048; 202 with HCC). Variants in PNPLA3-TM6SF2-GCKR-MBOAT7 were combined in a hepatic fat PRS (PRS-HFC), and then adjusted for HSD17B13 (PRS-5).In the NAFLD cohort, the adjusted impact of genetic risk variants on HCC was proportional to the predisposition to fatty liver (p=0.002) with some heterogeneity in the effect. PRS predicted HCC more robustly than single variants (p<10-13). The association between PRS and HCC was mainly mediated through severe fibrosis, but was independent of fibrosis in clinically relevant subgroups, and was also observed in those without severe fibrosis (p<0.05). In the UKBB cohort, PRS predicted HCC independently of classical risk factors and cirrhosis (p<10-7). In the NAFLD cohort, we identified high PRS cut-offs (≥0.532/0.495 for PRS-HFC/PRS-5) that in the UKBB cohort detected HCC with ∼90% specificity but limited sensitivity; PRS predicted HCC both in individuals with (p<10-5) and without cirrhosis (p<0.05).Our results are consistent with a causal relationship between hepatic fat and HCC. PRS improved the accuracy to detect HCC and may help stratify HCC risk in individuals with dysmetabolism, including those without severe liver fibrosis. Further studies are needed to validate our findings.
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| 3. |
- Bianco, Cristiana, et al.
(författare)
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Predictors of controlled attenuation parameter in metabolic dysfunction
- 2024
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Ingår i: United European Gastroenterology Journal. - 2050-6406 .- 2050-6414. ; 12:3, s. 364-373
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background & Aims: Hepatic fat content can be non-invasively estimated by controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) during transient elastography. The aim of this study was to examine the determinants and predictors of CAP values in individuals with metabolic dysfunction. Methods: We enrolled 1230 consecutive apparently healthy individuals (Liver-Bible-2022 cohort) with ≥3 metabolic dysfunction features. CAP was measured by Fibroscan. CAP determinants and predictors were identified using backward stepwise analysis and introduced in generalized linear models. Results: Participants were predominantly males (82.9%), mean age was 53.8±6.4years, 600 (48.8%) had steatosis (CAP≥275dB/m), and 27 had liver stiffness measurement (LSM)≥8kPa. CAP values correlated with LSM (p<10−22). In multivariable analysis, fasting insulin and abdominal circumference (AC) were the main determinants of CAP (p<10−6), together with body mass index (BMI; p<10−4), age, diabetes, triglycerides, ferritin, and lower HDL and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH; p<0.05 for all). In a subset of 592 participants with thyroid hormone measurement, we found an association between higher free triiodothyronine levels, correlating with lower TSH, and CAP values, independent of TSH and of levothyroxine treatment (p=0.0025). A clinical CAP score based on age, BMI, AC, HbA1c, ALT, and HDL predicted CAP≥275dB/m with moderate accuracy (AUROC=0.73), which was better than that of the Fatty Liver Index and of ALT (AUROC=0.70/0.61, respectively) and validated it in multiple cohorts. Conclusion: Abdominal adiposity and insulin resistance severity were the main determinants of CAP in individuals with metabolic dysfunction and may improve steatotic liver disease risk stratification. CAP values were modulated by the hypophysis-thyroid axis.
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| 4. |
- De Vincentis, Antonio, et al.
(författare)
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A Polygenic Risk Score to Refine Risk Stratification and Prediction for Severe Liver Disease by Clinical Fibrosis Scores.
- 2022
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Ingår i: Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. - : Elsevier BV. - 1542-7714. ; 20:3, s. 658-673
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A polygenic risk score based on well-known genetic variants in PNPLA3, TM6SF2, MBOAT7 and GCKR predicts hepatic fat content (PRS-HFC). Here we hypothesize that the addition of PRS-HFC to clinical fibrosis scores may improve risk stratification and prediction of severe liver disease (SLD).We used data from 266,687 individuals in the UK Biobank, evaluating the incidence of cirrhosis, decompensated liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma and/or liver transplantation during a median follow-up of 9 years. NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), FIB-4, APRI, BARD and Forns scores, and PRS-HFC, were computed. All analyses were stratified according to the presence of diabetes, obesity and positive fatty liver index (FLI≥60).Unfavorable genetics (PRS-HFC≥0.396) further stratified the risk of SLD in subjects in intermediate/high risk classes of fibrosis scores, with higher effect in those with metabolic risk factors, and the prediction was improved by integrating PRS-HFC (AUROCs increased for all scores with p∼10-2-10-4, except for APRI in the overall population and in subjects with obesity. PRS-HFC improved diagnostic accuracies and positive predictive values for SLD in intermediate-high clinical score risk classes. Risk stratification and prediction were not/poorly affected by unfavorable genetics in subjects without metabolic risk factors.Integration of genetics with clinical fibrosis scores refines individual risk and prediction for SLD, mainly in individuals at risk for NAFLD. These data provide first evidence from a prospective cohort that common genetic variants capture additional prognostic insights not conveyed by validated clinical/biochemical parameters.
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| 5. |
- De Vincentis, Antonio, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic variants in the MTHFR are not associated with fatty liver disease.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver. - : Wiley. - 1478-3231. ; 40:8, s. 1934-1940
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The common missense sequence variants of methylenetetrahydrofolate-reductase (MTHFR), rs1801131 (c.A1298C) and rs1801133 (c.C677T), favor the development of hyperhomocysteinemia and diminished DNA methylation. Previous studies, carried out in small series and with suboptimal characterization of the hepatic phenotype, tested the association of these genetic variants with fatty liver disease (FLD), with conflicting results. Here, we assessed the association of rs1801131 and rs1801133 with hepatic phenotype in the Liver Biopsy Cross-Sectional Cohort, a large cohort (n=1375 from Italy and 411 from Finland) of European individuals with suspect FLD associated with dysmetabolism. A total of 1786 subjects were analyzed by ordinal regression analyses. The rs1801131 and the rs1801133 variants were not associated with steatosis, inflammation, ballooning, or fibrosis. The present study suggests that changes in folate and methionine metabolism resulting from these 2 variants are not associated with a clinically significant impact on FLD in Europeans.
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| 6. |
- De Vincentis, Antonio, et al.
(författare)
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Poor accuracy and sustainability of the first-step FIB4 EASL pathway for stratifying steatotic liver disease risk in the general population.
- 2024
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Ingår i: Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. - 0269-2813. ; 59:11, s. 1402-1412
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The European Association for the Study of the Liver introduced a clinical pathway (EASL CP) for screening significant/advanced fibrosis in people at risk of steatotic liver disease (SLD). We assessed the performance of the first-step FIB4 EASL CP in the general population across different SLD risk groups (MASLD, Met-ALD and ALD) and various age classes.We analysed a total of 3372 individuals at risk of SLD from the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES17-18), projected to 152.3million U.S. adults, 300,329 from the UK Biobank (UKBB) and 57,644 from the Biobank Japan (BBJ). We assessed liver stiffness measurement (LSM) ≥8kPa and liver-related events occurring within 3 and 10years (3/10year-LREs) as outcomes. We defined MASLD, MetALD, and ALD according to recent international recommendations.FIB4 sensitivity for LSM≥8kPa was low (27.7%), but it ranged approximately 80%-90% for 3-year LREs. Using FIB4, 22%-57% of subjects across the three cohorts were identified as candidates for vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE), which was mostly avoidable (positive predictive value of FIB4≥1.3 for LSM≥8kPa ranging 9.5%-13% across different SLD categories). Sensitivity for LSM≥8kPa and LREs increased with increasing alcohol intake (ALD>MetALD>MASLD) and age classes. For individuals aged ≥65years, using the recommended age-adjusted FIB4 cut-off (≥2) substantially reduced sensitivity for LSM≥8kPa and LREs.The first-step FIB4 EASL CP is poorly accurate and feasible for individuals at risk of SLD in the general population. It is crucial to enhance the screening strategy with a first-step approach able to reduce unnecessary VCTEs and optimise their yield.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Pipitone, Rosaria M., et al.
(författare)
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Programmed cell death 1 genetic variant and liver damage in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
- 2023
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Ingår i: Liver International. - 1478-3223 .- 1478-3231. ; 43:8, s. 1761-71
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Aims: Programmed cell death 1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PDL-1) axis has been reported to modulate liver inflammation and progression to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Here, we examined whether the PDCD1 variation is associated with NAFLD severity in individuals with liver biopsy. Methods: We examined the impact of PDCD1 gene variants on HCC, as robust severe liver disease phenotype in UK Biobank participants. The strongest genetic association with the rs13023138 G>C variation was subsequently tested for association with liver damage in 2889 individuals who underwent liver biopsy for suspected nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Hepatic transcriptome was examined by RNA-Seq in a subset of NAFLD individuals (n = 121). Transcriptomic and deconvolution analyses were performed to identify biological pathways modulated by the risk allele. Results: The rs13023138 C>G showed the most robust association with HCC in UK Biobank (p = 5.28E-4, OR = 1.32, 95% CI [1.1, 1.5]). In the liver biopsy cohort, rs13023138 G allele was independently associated with severe steatosis (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.02-1.34; p =.01), NASH (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.09-1.37; p <.001) and advanced fibrosis (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.06-1.50; p =.007). At deconvolution analysis, rs13023138 G>C allele was linked to higher hepatic representation of M1 macrophages, paralleled by upregulation of pathways related to inflammation and higher expression of CXCR6. Conclusions: The PDCD1 rs13023138 G allele was associated with HCC development in the general population and with liver disease severity in patients at high risk of NASH.
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| 9. |
- Sasidharan, Kavitha, et al.
(författare)
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IL32 downregulation lowers triglycerides and type I collagen in di-lineage human primary liver organoids.
- 2024
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Ingår i: Cell reports. Medicine. - 2666-3791. ; 5:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Steatotic liver disease (SLD) prevails as the most common chronic liver disease yet lack approved treatments due to incomplete understanding of pathogenesis. Recently, elevated hepatic and circulating interleukin 32 (IL-32) levels were found in individuals with severe SLD. However, the mechanistic link between IL-32 and intracellular triglyceride metabolism remains to be elucidated. We demonstrate invitro that incubation with IL-32β protein leads to an increase in intracellular triglyceride synthesis, while downregulation of IL32 by small interfering RNA leads to lower triglyceride synthesis and secretion in organoids from human primary hepatocytes. This reduction requires the upregulation of Phospholipase A2 group IIA (PLA2G2A). Furthermore, downregulation of IL32 results in lower intracellular type I collagen levels in di-lineage human primary hepatic organoids. Finally, we identify a genetic variant of IL32 (rs76580947) associated with lower circulating IL-32 and protection against SLD measured by non-invasive tests. These data suggest that IL32 downregulation may be beneficial against SLD.
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| 10. |
- Tavaglione, Federica, et al.
(författare)
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Accuracy of controlled attenuation parameter for assessing liver steatosis in individuals with morbid obesity before bariatric surgery.
- 2022
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Ingår i: Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver. - : Wiley. - 1478-3231. ; 42:2, s. 374-383
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ultrasound-based controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) is a non-invasive tool widely validated for assessing liver steatosis across different etiologies. However, few studies, with liver biopsy available, have investigated its performance in individuals with morbid obesity. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of CAP in participants with morbid obesity from the MAFALDA study before bariatric surgery.A total of 120 individuals with valid examinations within three months from bariatric surgery were included. Clinical, laboratory, FibroScan® (XL probe), and liver biopsy data were collected using standardized procedures. The overall accuracy of CAP for detecting liver steatosis was estimated by the area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve (AUROC). Optimal cut-offs were chosen at points with the highest Youden index.The AUROCs of CAP for detecting S≥S1, S≥S2, and S=S3 were 0.91 (95% CI 0.86-0.97), 0.83 (95% CI 0.76-0.90), and 0.86 (95% CI 0.79-0.94), respectively. The best CAP cut-offs for S≥S1, S≥S2, and S=S3 were 300dB/m (95% CI 275-316), 328dB/m (95% CI 296-345), and 344dB/m (95% CI 343-352), respectively. CAP values were independently influenced by steatosis grade (estimate 20.60, 95% CI 12.70-28.40, P=1.05×10-6 ). The AUROC of FibroScan-AST (FAST) score for detecting progressive non-alcoholic steatohepatitis was 0.76 (95% CI 0.66-0.86).In individuals with morbid obesity, CAP measured by XL probe is an accurate non-invasive tool for grading liver steatosis. Measurement of liver fat content by CAP may help identify those eligible for bariatric procedures and estimate the effect of bariatric surgery on hepatic steatosis.The ultrasound-based controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) by using the XL probe has an excellent performance for grading liver steatosis among individuals with morbid obesity. CAP may represent an accurate tool for the non-invasive assessment of liver steatosis among individuals with morbid obesity before and after bariatric surgery.
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| 11. |
- Tavaglione, Federica, et al.
(författare)
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Development and Validation of a Score for Fibrotic Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis.
- 2023
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Ingår i: Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. - : Elsevier BV. - 1542-7714. ; 21:6, s. 1523-1532
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Non-invasive assessment of histological features of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been an intensive research area over the last decade. Herein, we aimed to develop a simple non-invasive score using routine laboratory tests to identify, among individuals at high risk for NAFLD, those with fibrotic non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) defined as NASH, NAFLD activity score (NAS) ≥4, and fibrosis stage ≥2.The derivation cohort included 264 morbidly obese individuals undergoing intraoperative liver biopsy in Rome, Italy. The best predictive model was developed and internally validated using a bootstrapping stepwise logistic regression analysis (2000 bootstrap samples). Performance was estimated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). External validation was assessed in three independent European cohorts (Finland, n=370; Italy n=947; England n=5,368) of individuals at high risk for NAFLD.The final predictive model, designated as Fibrotic NASH Index (FNI), combined aspartate aminotransferase (AST), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). The performance of FNI for fibrotic NASH was satisfactory in both derivation and external validation cohorts (AUROCs 0.78 and 0.80-0.95, respectively). In the derivation cohort, rule-out and rule-in cut-offs were 0.10 for sensitivity ≥0.89 (negative predictive value [NPV] 0.93) and 0.33 for specificity ≥0.90 (positive predictive value [PPV] 0.57), respectively. In the external validation cohorts, sensitivity ranged from 0.87 to 1 (NPV 0.99-1) and specificity from 0.73 to 0.94 (PPV 0.12-0.49) for rule-out and rule-in cut-off, respectively.FNI is an accurate, simple, and affordable non-invasive score which can be used in primary healthcare to screen for fibrotic NASH individuals with dysmetabolism.
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| 12. |
- Tavaglione, Federica, et al.
(författare)
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Inborn and acquired risk factors for severe liver disease in Europeans with type 2 diabetes from the UK Biobank.
- 2021
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Ingår i: JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology. - : Elsevier BV. - 2589-5559. ; 3:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Type 2 diabetes is a major driver of fatty liver disease and its long-term complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the individual contribution of inborn and acquired risk factors for severe liver disease in individuals with type 2 diabetes from the UK Biobank study.A total of 22,812 UK Biobank participants of European descent without clinical history of liver disease and liver cancer were prospectively followed for the development of severe liver disease, defined as a composite diagnosis of cirrhosis, decompensated liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, and/or liver transplantation from the National Health Service records. The contribution of inborn and acquired risk factors to the risk of incident severe liver disease was assessed by Cox proportional hazards models.During a median follow-up of 8.9 years (IQR 8.1-9.6), there were 279 individuals with severe liver disease, including 255 with cirrhosis and/or decompensated liver disease, 47 with hepatocellular carcinoma, and 5 with liver transplantation; death from severe liver disease occurred in 83 individuals. Risk factors independently associated with increased risk of incident severe liver disease included abnormal aspartate aminotransferase (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 4.85, 95% CI 2.76-8.54), decrease in serum albumin (aHR 2.39, 95% CI 1.76-3.24) and platelet count (aHR 1.12, 95% CI 1.09-1.16), cardiovascular disease (aHR 1.86, 95% CI 1.23-2.79), microalbuminuria (aHR 1.55, 95% CI 1.04-2.30), PNPLA3 rs738409 (aHR 1.67, 95% CI 1.27-2.18) and TM6SF2 rs58542926 (aHR 1.63, 95% CI 1.12-2.39), while the net effect of male sex was protective (aHR 0.49, 95% CI 0.26-0.94).These findings may help in clinical care to identify individuals with type 2 diabetes at risk of severe liver disease, in turn leading to personalised risk prediction and prevention strategies.Type 2 diabetes is a key driver of severe liver disease, namely cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver-related mortality. In Europeans with type 2 diabetes from the prospective UK Biobank study, abnormal liver function, cardiovascular disease, microalbuminuria, and genetic variants in PNPLA3 and TM6SF2 genes are the major independent risk factors for severe liver disease. These findings may contribute in clinical care to identify and closely monitor individuals with type 2 diabetes at risk of developing severe liver disease, requiring more intensive follow-up strategies.
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| 13. |
- Tavaglione, Federica, et al.
(författare)
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Reply
- 2022
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Ingår i: Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. - : Elsevier BV. - 1542-7714. ; 21:3, s. 856-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 14. |
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