Association of 1-deoxy-sphingolipids with steatosis but not steatohepatitis nor fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most important cause of chronic liver disease in the western world. Steatosis can be accompanied by inflammation and cell damage (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, NASH), and even liver fibrosis. Sphingolipids are a heterogeneous class of lipids and essential components of the plasma membrane and plasma lipoproteins. The atypical class of deoxy-sphingolipids has been implicated in the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Aim To determine if circulating (deoxy)sphingolipids are associated with NAFLD and its different entities, steatosis, inflammatory changes (inflammation and ballooning) and fibrosis. Methods Sphingolipids were analysed by LC–MS after hydrolysing the N -acyl and O -linked headgroups in plasma of obese adults who underwent a liver biopsy in suspicion of NAFLD. Results Two-hundred and eighty-eight patients were included. There was no association between typical sphingolipids and NAFLD and its different entities. There was a significant association between the presence of steatosis and the concentrations of deoxy-sphinganine [exp(B) 11.163 with CI (3.432, 36.306) and p