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Updated: Jun 27, 2026
3D Imaging of the Liver Extracellular Matrix in a Mouse Model of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis
Published on: February 25, 2022
Plasma Pentraxin3 is a novel marker for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
Masato Yoneda1, Takashi Uchiyama, Shingo Kato
1Division of Gastroenterology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9 Fuku-ura, Yokohama, Japan. yoneda@med.yokohama-cu.ac.jp
Background:
The changes in the liver in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) range over a wide spectrum, extending from steatosis to steatohepatitis (NASH). However it has remained difficult to differentiate between NASH and non-progressive NAFLD on the basis of the clinical findings alone.
Aims:
In this study we investigated the clinical usefulness of plasma Pentraxin3 (PTX3) levels to predict NASH. Plasma PTX3 was measured in 70 patients with histologically verified NAFLD (28 with non-NASH and 42 with NASH) and 10 healthy control subjects.
Results:
The plasma PTX3 level was significantly higher in the NASH cases than in the non-NASH cases (p = 0.0021) and control subjects (p = 0.045). And the plasma PTX3 level was significantly higher in the stages 3-4 NAFLD cases than in the stages 0-2 NAFLD cases (p < 0.0001). The PTX3 values were closely correlated with the stages of liver fibrosis (p < 0.0001, Kruskal-Wallis test). To detect NASH compared with non-NASH, the area under the curve for plasma PTX3 were 0.755, and to detect stages 3-4 NAFLD compared with stages 0-2 NAFLD, the area under the curve for plasma PTX3 were 0.850.
Conclusion:
This is the first study to demonstrate consistent and profound elevation of plasma PTX3 levels in NASH in comparison with non-NASH. The results suggest that plasma PTX3 levels may not only be laboratory values that differentiate NASH from non-NASH, but marker of the severity of hepatic fibrosis in NASH.
