Still little is known about the redox abnormalities in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The purpose of the study was to find the relationship between enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, redox homeostasis and oxidative damage in 67-patients with NAFLD. The study population was divided into patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver (early NAFLD, n = 29) and patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (advanced NAFLD, n = 38). Redox biomarkers: enzymatic antioxidants (Cu - Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR)); non-enzymatic antioxidants and redox status (reduced glutathione (GSH), total antioxidant capacity (TAC)); and oxidative damage products (total oxidant status (TOS), advanced glycation end products (AGE), malondialdehyde (MDA), and DNA/RNA oxidative damage) were determined in the serum/plasma samples. The activity of SOD, GPx, GR and levels of GSH, TOS, AGE, MDA, and DNA/RNA oxidative damage were significantly elevated in early NAFLD and advanced NAFLD group compared to controls (p < .001). There was a positive correlation between AGE, TAC and ALT activity (R = 0.34, p = .04; R = 0.36, p = .03, respectively) in advanced NAFLD group. Interestingly, ROC analysis for AGE showed good discriminatory ratio for patients with minimal steatosis (BARD score 0-1) vs. moderate steatosis (BARD score 2-4), AUC = 0.76. Plasma AGE can be a potential non-invasive biomarker differentiating NAFLD patients.
Keywords: Antioxidants; NAFLD; oxidative damage; oxidative stress.