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. 2021 Jun 23;8:683250. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.683250

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Adiponectin serum levels differentiate NAFL and NASH, but PNPLA3 genotype may be a confounding factor. (A) In the discovery cohort, the adiponectin serum levels were significantly lower in NASH when compared to NAFL, presenting an AUROC value of 0.87 and very high sensitivity and NPV (non-obese control, n = 8; NAFL, n = 19; NASH, n = 12). (B) In the validation cohort, adiponectin distinguishes NAFL from NASH only within PNPLA3 CC allele carriers, with an AUROC value superior to 0.6 obese controls, n = 7; NAFL, n = 59, NASH, n = 47). (C) In the validation cohort, NAFLD patients with PNPLA3 GG genotype also showed increased levels of adiponectin. The x-axis represents the three possible genotypes for rs738409 polymorphism: CC allele, n = 117; CG allele, n = 55; GG allele, n = 16). (D) Correlations between adiponectin serum levels and several parameters: AST and ALT serum levels (both n = 199), HDL and LDL serum levels (both n = 167), total cholesterol levels (n = 168), and triglyceride serum levels (n = 168). (E) The adiponectin levels decreased with higher grades of steatosis. The x-axis represents the histological grade of steatosis, ranging from 0 to 3. There was a significant difference between grade 2 vs. grade 1 and vs. grade 0 (n = 28, grade 0; n = 80, grade 1; n = 49, grade 2; n = 48, grade 3). Adiponectin levels depicted as mean ± SEM. ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; CI, confidence interval; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; NAFL, non-alcoholic fatty liver; NASH, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.