Complement C3 and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Hepatology
• Clinical Biochemistry

Background:

• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects a significant portion of the general population.
• Complement C3 has emerged as a potential biomarker for NAFLD in the general population.
• The utility of C3 as a biomarker in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains to be fully elucidated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the predictive value of complement C3 for the presence of NAFLD in patients diagnosed with CKD.
• To assess the association between C3 levels and NAFLD diagnosis in a cohort of CKD patients.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 648 CKD patients underwent assessment of liver and kidney function, metabolic parameters, and immune markers.
• NAFLD diagnosis was established using established ultrasonographic criteria.
• Statistical analyses, including logistic regression and ROC curve analysis, were employed to evaluate C3's predictive capability.

Main Results:

• Of the 648 CKD patients, 216 (33.3%) were diagnosed with NAFLD.
• Patients with NAFLD exhibited significantly higher levels of complement C3 compared to those without NAFLD (p = 0.001).
• Logistic regression identified complement C3 as a significant predictor of NAFLD in CKD patients (OR = 1.003; p = 0.001), with an optimal cut-off of 993.5 mg/L providing 63.9% sensitivity and 70.1% specificity.

Conclusions:

• Complement C3 demonstrates significant potential as a surrogate biomarker for identifying NAFLD in individuals with CKD.
• These findings suggest that C3 measurement could aid in the non-invasive screening and diagnosis of NAFLD within the CKD population.