Low-grade systemic inflammation in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)

Erol M. E., Ünal K.

50th FEBS Congress, Maastricht, Hollanda, 4 - 08 Haziran 2026, cilt.16, sa.2, ss.340, (Özet Bildiri)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Cilt numarası: 16
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1002/2211-5463.70291
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Maastricht
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Hollanda
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.340
  • Gazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Rationale: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
(MASLD) is a common condition characterized by fattydeposition in the liver within the context of cardio-metabolic risk
factors. This study evaluated the relationship between inflamma-
tory biomarkers, the presence of MASLD, and the severity of
ultrasonographic steatosis, and examined whether inflammatory
load reflects disease burden.
Methods: Eighty-four adults were divided into two groups: con-
trol (grade 0, n = 28) and MASLD (grades 1-3, n = 56). An
inflammatory load index (ILI) was constructed from standardized
IL-6, CRP, and TNF-a values (Cronbach’s a=0.41). Group dif-
ferences were assessed using Mann-Whitney U tests or t-tests,
and steatosis grades were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test.
Spearman correlations and ROC analyses were performed to
evaluate the discriminative ability of metabolic and inflammatory
markers for MASLD.
Results: IL-6, ILI and sCD163 were significantly higher in the
MASLD group (p < 0.05), consistent with low-grade systemic
inflammation. However, none of these inflammatory markers dif-
fered across steatosis grades (p > 0.10), indicating that inflamma-
tory activity does not parallel ultrasonographic severity. In
contrast, metabolic indicators showed stronger disease relevance:
both the TyG index and the ALT/AST ratio were significantly
associated with MASLD and steatosis grade, with TyG demon-
strating the highest discriminative performance (AUC = 0.767).
These findings indicate that, although inflammatory markers are
elevated in MASLD, metabolic load markers more accurately
reflect disease burden.
Conclusions: In conclusion, while low-grade systemic inflam-
mation is present in MASLD, it does not correlate with steatosis
severity. Metabolic load markers, particularly the TyG index and
ALT/AST ratio, more strongly reflect both the presence and con-
stitutive severity of the disease. Inflammatory biomarkers add
dimension to the biology of MASLD but are not determinants of
steatosis severity