Plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and its soluble receptor in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinical pathologic condition, which leads to inflammation events in hepatocytes. The objective of present study was to compare the plasma levels of VEGF and sVEGFR-1 as inflammation factors in overweight and obese children and adolescents with and without NAFLD. Materials and Methods: A total sample of 70 overweight and obese children and adolescents (37 boys and 33 girls) were recruited from those admitted to a nutrition clinic in Mashhad, northeastern Iran. The presence of NAFLD was determined by FibroScan, ultrasound and elevation of liver enzyme. Plasma VEGF and sVEGFR1 were also determined for each individual. Results: VEGF levels (log transformed) showed a significant stepwise increase from zero to first , second and third grades (P trend<0.001). However, sVEGFR1 (log transformed) did not show a regular trend between different grades of NAFLD (P trend=0.3). The odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for VEGF across categories of NAFLD were 1.00, 0.99 (0.97-1.01), 1.02 (0.99-1.04), and 1.04 (1.02-1.06). The odds ratios remained relatively unchanged even after adjusting for sex, age and BMI. Conclusion: This study showed a significant positive association between plasma VEGF levels and grades of steatosis in overweight and obese children and adolescents, even after adjustment for age, sex and BMI.

Keywords:

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease , VEGF , sVEGFR1 , children , adolescents