A retrospective case control study identifies peripheral blood mononuclear cell albumin RNA expression as a biomarker for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Purpose Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) improves after bariatric surgery. The aim of this study was to determine whether peripheral blood mononuclear cell albumin gene expression was related to NAFLD and whether albumin (ALB) and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) expression could be detected in whole blood and visceral adipose tissue. Methods Using a retrospective case control study design, RNA isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients prior to undergoing bariatric surgery was used for pooled microarray analysis. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) was used to analyze whole blood and visceral adipose tissue. Liver histology was obtained via intra-operative biopsy and clinical data extracted from the electronic health record. Results The albumin (ALB) gene was the second most up-regulated found in microarray analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cell RNA from patients with hepatic lobular inflammation versus normal liver histology. Transcript levels of ALB were significantly different across those with normal ( n = 50), steatosis ( n = 50), lobular inflammation ( n = 50), and peri-sinusoidal fibrosis ( n = 50) liver histologies, with lobular inflammation 3.9 times higher than those with normal histology ( p