Serum oxidative stress markers and lipidomic profile to detect NASH patients responsive to an antioxidant treatment: a pilot study

Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2014:2014:169216. doi: 10.1155/2014/169216. Epub 2014 Jun 2.

Abstract

Liver steatosis can evolve to steatohepatitis (NASH) through a series of biochemical steps related to oxidative stress in hepatocytes. Antioxidants, such as silybin, have been proposed as a treatment of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and NASH. In this study, we evaluated, in patients with histologically documented NASH, the oxidant/antioxidant status and lipid "fingerprint" in the serum of NASH patients, both in basal conditions and after 12 months of treatment with silybin-based food integrator Realsil (RA). The oxidant/antioxidant status analysis showed the presence of a group of patients with higher basal severity of disease (NAS scores 4.67 ± 2.5) and a second group corresponding to borderline NASH (NAS scores = 3.8 ± 1.5). The chronic treatment with RA changed the NAS score in both groups that reached the statistical significance only in group 2, in which there was also a significant decrease of serum lipid peroxidation. The lipidomic profile showed a lipid composition similar to that of healthy subjects with a restoration of the values of free cholesterol, lysoPC, SM, and PC only in group 2 of patients after treatment with RA. Conclusion. These data suggest that lipidomic and/or oxidative status of serum from patients with NASH could be useful as prognostic markers of response to an antioxidant treatment.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antioxidants / pharmacology
  • Antioxidants / therapeutic use*
  • Biomarkers / blood*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Catalase / blood
  • Female
  • Hep G2 Cells
  • Humans
  • Lipid Metabolism* / drug effects
  • Male
  • Metabolomics*
  • Nitric Oxide / blood
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / blood*
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / diagnosis*
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / drug therapy
  • Oxidative Stress* / drug effects
  • Phosphatidylcholines / metabolism
  • Pilot Projects
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
  • Superoxide Dismutase / blood
  • Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / metabolism

Substances

  • Antioxidants
  • Biomarkers
  • Phosphatidylcholines
  • Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances
  • Nitric Oxide
  • Catalase
  • Superoxide Dismutase