@Article{ecn.2012.0313,
AUTHOR = {Nada Alaaeddine, Joseph Sidaoui, George Hilal, Reem Serhal, Abir Abedelrahman, Salem Khoury},
TITLE = {TNF-α messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis},
JOURNAL = {European Cytokine Network},
VOLUME = {23},
YEAR = {2012},
NUMBER = {3},
PAGES = {107--111},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/ECN/v23n3/65701},
ISSN = {1952-4005},
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.},
DOI = {10.1684/ecn.2012.0313}
}