The association of systemic inflammatory biomarkers with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and arterial hypertension

Objective — to explore the relationship between metabolic dysfunction‑associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) on the background of arterial hypertension (AH) and blood inflammatory markers including C‑reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin‑6 (IL‑6), IL‑4, haptoglobin and pentraxin‑3 (PTX‑3). Materials and methods. We examined 102 patients with MASLD. They were divided into 3 groups: group A included 52 patients with isolated MASLD, group B — 23 patients with MASLD and AH stage I, and group C — 27 patients with MASLD and AH stage II. The control group (group D) comprised 20 apparently healthy people. Patients with viral hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, alcoholic liver disease, and AH stage III were excluded. Systemic inflammatory biomarkers analyses were performed using electrochemiluminescence, immunoenzymatic, and immunoturbidimetry techniques. Results. The systemic inflammatory biomarkers analyses revealed significantly higher levels of CRP (p=0.001), IL‑6 (p=0.01), haptoglobin (p<0.05) and PTX‑3 (p<0.01) and decreased levels of IL‑4 (p<0.05) in group B and group C in comparison with the group A and control group (p1 <0.01, p2=0.01). Also, there was a significant increase of CRP (p=0.01), IL‑6 (p=0.01), and PTX‑3 levels (p<0.05) in group B compared with group C. However, the relationship between the IL‑4 (p>0.05) and haptoglobin (p>0.05) levels and the progression of the AH stages have not been confirmed in our study. Conclusions. Our findings indicate the direct relationship between the systemic inflammatory biomarkers’ involvement in developing liver tissue inflammation and the further progression of MASLD. The obtained data indicate the relationship of AH and its stages with the development of chronic systemic inflammatory response in patients with MASLD and AH comorbid course.