Background and study aim: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is similar to alcoholic fatty liver disease, in which there is excessive fat in the liver but no excess alcohol use. It has emerged as one of the most common liver disorders worldwide. Many attempts were made to rename NAFLD. Recently, an international expert panel agreed on a new definition that is more linked to metabolic dysfunction. NAFLD was replaced with the term "metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD)" with a set of easy "positive" diagnostic criteria. When exposed to pro-inflammatory stimuli that are linked to the pathogenesis of NAFLD, dendritic cells, macrophages, fibroblasts, and activated endothelial cells produce PTX3. We aimed to evaluate PTX3 levels in NAFLD and their association with concomitant chronic HBV.
Patients and Methods: This study included 100 subjects: 40 with NAFLD, 40 with NAFLD and concomitant chronic hepatitis B, and 20 healthy subjects. Serum PTX 3 was measured by ELISA.‎
Results: Our study revealed that PTX 3 was higher in patients with NAFLD and those with concomitant HBV infection than control.
Conclusion: We concluded that PTX-3 levels were higher in patients with NAFLD with or without concomitant HBV than in controls. PTX 3 may be helpful in identifying those who are at risk of developing metabolic syndrome, as its level in patients with concurrent NAFLD and HBV is higher than the level in NAFLD patients alone, but this difference is not statistically significant. This reflects an inflammatory response caused by changes in metabolic profile rather than an infection-related response.