Table 1.
Clinicopathological characteristics of transplant recipients included in the study.
| Variable | Control (n=4) |
Steatosis (n=2) |
NASH (n=4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recipient age at transplant (y), mean (range) | 55 (47-65) | 46 (33-58) | 54 (45-65) |
| Recipient sex (male), n (%) | 1 (25) | 2 (100) | 3 (75) |
| Recipient weight (kg), mean (range) | 81 (52-108) | 81 (80-82) | 86 (67-98) |
| Recipient height (cm), mean (range) | 160 (148-169) | 167 (160-173) | 166 (160-170) |
| Recipient BMI (kg/m2), mean (range) | 31 (24-42) | 29 (27-31) | 31 (24-34) |
| Donor age (y), mean (range) | 33 (23-47) | 56 (44-68) | 31 (17-48) |
| Sex-matched donor, n (%) yes unknown |
2 (50) 2 (50) |
1 (50) 1 (50) |
3 (75) 1 (25) |
| Donor type (deceased), n (%) | 2 (50) | 1 (50) | 3 (75) |
| Primary indication for transplantation, n (%) NASH Alcohol HBV + HCC PSC Fulminant hepatitis HCV + Alcohol |
3 (75) 1 (25) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
0 (0) 0 (0) 1 (50) 1 (50) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
2 (50) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 1 (25) 1 (25) |
| Immunosuppressant, n (%) Tacrolimus Cyclosporine |
4 (100) 0 (0) |
2 (100) 0 (0) |
3 (75) 1 (25) |
| Time from transplant to biopsy (y), mean (range) | 2 (1-3) | 5 (1-10) | 5 (1-11) |
| Immunosuppressant serum levels (ng/mL), mean (range) Tacrolimus Cyclosporine |
7.7 (6.1-9.5) N/A |
7.3 (4.7-9.9) N/A |
9.1 (7.7-9.8)ns
349 (-) |
| AST (IU/L), mean (range) | 18 (10-21) | 48 (42-53) | 48 (23-92)ns |
| ALT (IU/L), mean (range) | 18 (8-20) | 109 (72-146) | 53 (33-97)* |
| ALP (IU/L), mean (range) | 80 (67-96) | 132 (108-155) | 166 (67-415)ns |
| Dyslipidemia, n (%) | 1 (25) | 0 (0) | 3 (75) |
| Diabetes Mellitus, n (%) | 1 (25) | 2 (100) | 2 (50) |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 3 (75) | 1 (50) | 3 (75) |
| Histology: Steatosis score, n (%) 0 (<5%) 1 (5-33%) 2 (>33-66%) 3 (>66%) |
4 (100) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
0 (0) 0 (0) 2 (100) 0 (0) |
0 (0) 2 (50) 2 (50) 0 (0) |
| Histology: Lobular inflammation score, n (%) 0 (None) 1 (<2 foci/200x) 2 (2-4 foci/200x) 3 (>4 foci/200x) |
4 (100) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
1 (50 1 (50) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
0 (0) 2 (500) 2 (50) 0 (0) |
| Histology: Ballooning score, n (%) 0 (None) 1 (Few balloon cells) 2 (Many cells/prominent ballooning) |
4 (100) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
0 (0) 3 (75) 1 (25) |
| Histology: NAFLD Activity Score (NAS), n (%) 0 (None) 1-2 (Mild) 3-4 (Moderate) 5-8 (Severe) |
4 (100) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
0 (0) 1 (50) 1 (50) 0 (0) |
0 (0) 0 (0) 3 (75) 1 (25) |
| Histology: Fibrosis stage, n (%) F0 (absent) F1 (1 zone fibrosis) F2 (2 zone fibrosis) F3 (bridging fibrosis) F4 (cirrhosis) |
4 (100) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
2 (100) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
2 (50) 1(25) 0 (0) 0 (0) 1(25) |
| More recent liver biopsy available, n (%) | 0 (0) | 2 (100) | 2 (50) |
| Most recent histology: Fibrosis stage, n (%)† F0 (absent) F1 (1 zone fibrosis) F2 (2 zone fibrosis) F3 (bridging fibrosis) F4 (cirrhosis) |
4 (100) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
1 (50) 0 (0) 1 (50) 0 (0) 0 (0) |
2 (50) 0 (0) 1 (25) 0 (0) 1 (25) |
BMI, body mass index; NASH, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; PSC, primary sclerosing cholangitis; Tx, transplantation; Bx, biopsy; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; dyslipidemia, low-density lipoprotein > 130 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L), triglycerides > 150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L), or requirement of lipid-lowering agents; diabetes mellitus (DM): fasting plasma glucose (FPG) >=126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) or 2-h plasma glucose>=200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) during oral glucose tolerance test or A1C>=6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or requirement of anti-diabetic medications; hypertension: > 140/90 mm Hg, > 130/80 mm Hg with DM, or requirement of antihypertensive medications. †Most recent histology includes reports of liver biopsies performed after transcriptomic profiling was done. ns=not significant. *p-value of PT-NASH vs. control is 0.04