Neuregulin 4 plays no clear role in NAFLD

Neuregulin 4 (Nrg4) does not seem to play a role in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a recent study has found.

Fasting venous blood samples were drawn from 65 NAFLD patients and 43 healthy controls, and subjected to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for the measurement of Nrg4. Microarrays and subsequent bioinformatic analyses were performed to determine whether Nrg4 pathways were involved in the pathophysiology of NAFLD.

Median plasma concentrations of Nrg4 did not significantly differ between NAFLD and controls (89.2 vs 89.5 pg/mL; p=0.622). To further investigate whether the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) could influence Nrg4 levels, the researchers conducted stratified analyses, and found that concentrations of Nrg4 remained comparable between NAFLD patients with vs without DM2 (p=0.381).

Multivariable linear regression analysis confirmed the lack of an interaction between Nrg4 levels and NAFLD (B, 7.773, 95 percent confidence interval, –1.891 to 17.357).

Similarly, Nrg4 did not correlate significantly with hepatic fat fraction, fibrosis, or other metabolic risk factors such as fasting glucose, glycated haemoglobin, body mass index, insulin resistance, or blood lipid profile.

Pathway analysis also showed that Nrg4 was not expressed differently between healthy controls and NAFLD patients.

“[O]ur study does not support the preclinical finding that Nrg4 deficiency associates with increased hepatic lipogenesis and NAFLD progression,” the researchers said. “Notwithstanding, future human studies are needed to further assess the pathophysiological role and therapeutic potential of Nrg4 in human NAFLD.”