Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Abassia, Cairo, Egypt.
Mediators Inflamm. 2011;2011:703031. doi: 10.1155/2011/703031. Epub 2011 Oct 4.
Highlighting the apelin system would present a new therapeutic target for liver disease. Apelin; endogenous ligand for the orphan receptor APJ, was recently suggested to be associated with fibrosis progression and cirrhosis in addition to insulin resistance (IR) and inflammation. The present study was conducted to evaluate blood apelin level changes among 73 chronic hepatitis C (CHC) Egyptian patients and if associated with body mass index (BMI), IR, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Serum apelin levels were significantly higher in patients with CHC with median value (3.25) when compared with controls (1.11), at P < 0.0001, with significant apelin variations among asymptomatic carriers (ASC), fibrosis, and cirrhosis patients, and also among obese and nonobese patients. Multiple regression analysis depicted that BMI, triglycerides, and total cholesterol were independent correlation factors to apelin levels, whereas TNF-α was found to be significantly negatively correlated to adjusted apelin in CHC patients (r = -0.5944, P < 0.0001). IR was positively correlated to adjusted apelin in CHC patients (r = 0.2663, P < 0.05).
Apelin level varies among stages of CHC, which may contribute to fibrosis progression. In addition, obesity and IR could act as comorbid factors affecting apelin level in patients with CHC.
强调阿片样肽系统将为肝病提供一个新的治疗靶点。阿片样肽；孤儿受体 APJ 的内源性配体，最近被认为除了胰岛素抵抗（IR）和炎症外，还与纤维化进展和肝硬化有关。本研究旨在评估 73 例埃及慢性丙型肝炎（CHC）患者的血液阿片样肽水平变化，如果与体重指数（BMI）、IR 和肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）相关。与对照组（1.11）相比，CHC 患者的血清阿片样肽水平显著升高，中位数（3.25），P<0.0001，无症状携带者（ASC）、纤维化和肝硬化患者之间存在显著的阿片样肽变异，肥胖和非肥胖患者之间也是如此。多元回归分析表明，BMI、甘油三酯和总胆固醇是阿片样肽水平的独立相关因素，而 TNF-α与 CHC 患者调整后的阿片样肽呈显著负相关（r=-0.5944，P<0.0001）。IR 与 CHC 患者调整后的阿片样肽呈正相关（r=0.2663，P<0.05）。
阿片样肽水平在 CHC 的不同阶段变化，这可能有助于纤维化的进展。此外，肥胖和 IR 可能作为影响 CHC 患者阿片样肽水平的合并症因素。
