Increased Serum Pentraxin 3 Is Associated with Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes in Obese Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is an acute-phase protein, which resembles C-reactive protein in both structure and function, and belongs to the same family. PTX3 is associated with cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and metabolic syndrome (MetS). This study evaluated the relationship between serum PTX3 levels, prediabetes, newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and other biochemical and clinical parameters in obese patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). A total of 77 obese patients with NAFLD were included. Forty-seven of them were with normal glucose levels and 30 were with glycemic disorders, including prediabetes and newly diagnosed T2DM. Serum PTX3 was measured using ELISA method. Higher PTX3 serum levels were found in patients with prediabetes and T2DM compared with those with normal blood glucose (2321.29 ± 926.63 vs. 1877.03 ± 895.45 pg/mL,  = 0.028). There were significant correlations between PTX3 and alanine aminotransferase ( = 0.018), gamma-glutamyl transferase ( = 0.005), and neuropathy disability score ( < 0.05). The presence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and MetS, as well as the number of components of the MetS did not affect PTX3 levels. PTX3 serum levels were higher in an obese subject with NAFLD with prediabetes and T2DM.