Background
Apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage (
Conclusion
High serum levels of AIM in CHC patients are potentially related to advanced hepatic fibrosis. AIM and adipocytokines are possibly associated with pathological changes via a different mechanism.
Methods
Serum samples were obtained from 77 patients with biopsy-proven CHC. In 39 patients without overt diabetes mellitus, a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed and HOMA-IR and WBISI were calculated.
Results
A serum AIM level of ≥ 1.2 μg/ml was independently associated with advanced hepatic fibrosis (F2 or F3) (odds ratio [OR], 5.612; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.103-28.563; P = 0.038) based on a multivariate analysis, but there was no significant association between AIM and hepatic steatosis or inflammation. Furthermore, a serum leptin level of ≥ 8.6 ng/ml was independently associated with the presence of hepatic steatosis (≥ 5%) (OR, 6.195; 95% CI, 1.409-27.240; P = 0.016), but not hepatic fibrosis or inflammation. No relationship was observed between levels of adiponectin or resistin and hepatic histological parameters based on a multivariate analysis. Although serum levels of leptin, resistin, and adiponectin were significantly correlated with HOMA-IR and WBISI, there was no significant relationship between serum AIM levels and HOMA-IR or WBISI, respectively.