Profile of fatty acids of erythrocyte membranes, blood serum of patients with steatosis and steatohepatitis in fatty liver disease of various genesis

The aim of the study is to investigate the possibilities of using fatty acids of erythrocyte membranes and blood serum to differentiate steatosis and steatohepatitis in patients with fatty liver disease (FLD) of various origins. Material and methods . The study included 84 men with FLD of various origins (alcoholic, non-alcoholic, mixed, i.e. alcoholic + metabolic), average age 48.4 ± 13.9 years, fibrosis degree 0-1 (FibroScan® 502 Echosens, France). Using serum tests NashTest, AshTest as part of FibroMax, ActiTest as part of FibroTest (BioPredictive, France), 44 patients showed minimal necroinflammatory activity in the liver tissue (steatosis), and 40 patients showed pronounced necro- inflammatory activity (considered as steatohepatitis). The study of the composition of fatty acids of erythrocyte membrane, blood serum was carried out using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry – a system based on three Agilent 7000B quadrupoles (USA). Results . Fatty acids of erythrocyte membranes, significant for differentiation of steatohepatitis and steatosis in patients with FLD of various genesis, were established: levels of docosatetraenoic C22:4n-6 (p = 0.0001), arachidic C20:0 (p = 0.034) were significantly higher, and the content of pentadecanoic C15:0 (p=0.0006), 7-palmitoleic C16:1;7 (p = 0.0093), myristic C14:0 (p = 0.025), eicosapentaenoic C20:5n-3 (p = 0.032), hexadecadienoic acid C16:2 n-6 (p = 0.042) – lower in steatohepatitis than those in patients with liver steatosis. The greatest potential in distinguishing the degree of necroinflammatory activity in the liver was demonstrated by pentadecanoic acid C15:0 – AUC 0.736 (95 % CI 0.63–0.843), sensitivity 68.3 %, specificity 75.9 %. The created diagnostic panel of a combination of erythrocyte membrane fatty acids (C15:0, C14:0, C16:1;7) showed the highest sensitivity – 76.5 % with low specificity of 67.1 %. Conclusions . The identified features of the fatty acid profile of erythrocyte membranes and blood serum should be considered as promising biomarkers for the detection of steatohepatitis from the point of view of further research in this area.