Profiling Fibrotic Genes in Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT) Among Patients within the Spectrum of NAFLD

Kameron Tavakolian

Based on a literature review for proimflammatory/profibrotic adipokines in hepatic steatosis, hepatic fibrogenesis, NAFLD, and/or NASH, we propose in this study to investigate Interleukin-5 (IL5), Interleukin-17 (IL17), Interleukin-13 receptor subunit alpha-2 (IL13RA2), C-C motif chemokine 4 (CCL4), C-C motif chemokine 11 (CCL11), Colony stimulating factor 1 (CSF1), Colony stimulating factor 2 (CSF2), Colony stimulating factor 3 (CSF3), Collagen type-I alpha-2 (COL1A2), and Angiotensinogen (AGT) as candidate biomarkers in inflammation and fibrosis. In addition, we will examine the relationship between VAT proinflammatory/profibrotic candidate biomarker expression with the presence of NAFLD, NASH, and/or the progression of NAFLD to NASH. Quantitative measurements for candidate biomarkers in a cohort of patients under the spectrum of NAFLD may provide a data set that can be used to link one or more of the biomarkers to the presence of NAFLD, NASH, and/or the progression of NAFLD to NASH using statistical methods.