Open Access

ARTICLE

TNF-α messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Nada Alaaeddine¹, Joseph Sidaoui¹, George Hilal¹, Reem Serhal¹, Abir Abedelrahman², Salem Khoury³

1 Faculty of Medicine, St. Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon
2 Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Balamand, Tripoli, Lebanon
3 Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of Balamand, Tripoli, Lebanon

* Corresponding Author: N. Alaaeddine,

European Cytokine Network 2012, 23(3), 107-111. https://doi.org/10.1684/ecn.2012.0313

Accepted 20 June 2012;

Abstract

Background and aim: tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). A few studies have confirmed high TNF-α plasma protein levels in patients with NASH compared to healthy volunteers. We herein aimed to revisit these findings using other molecular techniques. Methods: a cross-sectional evaluation of patients newly diagnosed with NASH. A quantitative assay for the measurement of TNF-α messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) was performed for NASH patients and controls using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: in 39 patients with NASH (mean age 38.6 ± 9.4 years, range 28-60 years; 79% males), the mean TNF-α mRNA level was significantly higher than that found for controls (137.6 ± 102.3 ng/mL versus 83.5 ± 43.8 ng/mL, respectively; P = 0.012). A TNF-α mRNA cut-off of 100 ng/mL predicted NASH most optimally (AUC 0.685 ± 0.066, P = 0.01; with 66.7% sensitivity and 74.1% specificity). Serum TNF-α and soluble TNF-α receptor II (sTNFRII) levels were significantly higher in patients compared to controls using ELISA. Conclusion: high TNF-α mRNA levels, determined by RT-PCR, characterize patients with NASH.

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Keywords

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