Expression of insulin-like growth factor I and its receptor in the liver of children with biopsy-proven NAFLD

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is one of the major complications of obesity, occurring already in pediatric age. Insulin like growth factor-I has been proposed as a potential therapeutic agent for its beneficial effect in experimental liver fibrosis. The aim of this work was to investigate the expression of insulin-like growth factor-I and its receptor in the liver of children with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and relate it to liver histological features. 45 obese children and adolescents (14 females and 31 males) with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease were included. Insulin like growth factor-I and its receptor expression was evaluated in liver tissue by immunofluorescence and qPCR. The expression of insulin like growth factor-I and its receptor were significantly related to fibrosis and were higher in children with stage 3 fibrosis compared to stage 1 and 2 (p