PNPLA3 rs738409 C>G Variant Predicts Fibrosis Progression by Noninvasive Tools in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

Liver fibrosis is the main predictor of events in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD),¹ and its evolution is characterized by a nonlinear trend^2,3 mostly affected by metabolic risk factors, severity of liver inflammation and steatosis, and weight loss.³ The rs738409 C>G common variant in PNPLA3 gene has been associated with severity of fibrosis and risk of liver-related events in NAFLD.^4,5 Noninvasive tests as Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) are useful to rule-out advanced fibrosis and they could be reliable to predict fibrosis progression.^2,6 We aimed to evaluate in patients with NAFLD whether PNPLA3 rs738409 C>G variant impacts on fibrosis progression, noninvasively assessed by FIB-4 and LSM.