Academic Journal
Cytokeratin-18 increase as a signal for early liver cell changes in high-fat diet-induced obesity before overt steatohepatitis.
| Τίτλος: | Cytokeratin-18 increase as a signal for early liver cell changes in high-fat diet-induced obesity before overt steatohepatitis. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Özdemir Ö; Department of Internal Medicine, Medicine Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Türkiye., Akalın Ç; Department of General Surgery, Medicine Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Türkiye., Ekiz F; Department of Gastroenterology. Medical Park Ordu Hospital, Ordu, Türkiye., Öğüten PN; Department of Histology and Embryology. Medicine Faculty of Samsun University, Samsun, Türkiye., Baş O; Department of Anatomy, Medicine Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Türkiye., Bayrak A; Department of Medical Biochemistry, Medicine Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Türkiye., Kaşko Arıcı Y; Department of Biostatistics, Medicine Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Türkiye. |
| Πηγή: | Frontiers in endocrinology [Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)] 2026 Jul 08; Vol. 17, pp. 1853417. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jul 08 (Print Publication: 2026). |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Frontiers Research Foundation] Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101555782 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 1664-2392 (Print) Linking ISSN: 16642392 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: [Lausanne : Frontiers Research Foundation] |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Keratin-18*/metabolism , Keratin-18*/blood , Diet, High-Fat*/adverse effects , Obesity*/metabolism , Obesity*/pathology , Obesity*/etiology , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease*/pathology , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease*/etiology , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease*/metabolism , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease*/blood , Liver*/pathology , Liver*/metabolism , Fatty Liver*/pathology , Fatty Liver*/etiology , Fatty Liver*/metabolism, Biomarkers/metabolism ; Animals ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Insulin Resistance |
| Περίληψη: | Objective: The major cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is obesity; in fact, this condition has been defined as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Non-invasive diagnosis and grading of NAFLD are the subjects of the studies. Cytokeratin-18 (CK-18) is particularly highlighted as an indicator of liver cell death and steatohepatitis, but its relationship with obesity remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the metabolic parameters, CK-18 levels, and liver histopathology in high-fat diet-induced obesity in rats. Methods: Rats were fed either a normal-fat diet (NFD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) for eight weeks. Body weights, metabolic-liver parameters and CK-18 levels were assessed at study end. The liver histopathological changes (steatosis, lobular inflammation, ballooning, fibrosis) and NAFLD activity score were examined. Results: Increased final body weight (335.8 ± 20.2 vs 291.5 ± 6.25 g; p<0.001), glucose (186.4 ± 46.9 vs 130.0 ± 16.2 mg/dL; p=0.011), insulin (4.30 ± 0.70 vs 2.23 ± 0.82 IU/L; p<0.001), HOMA-IR (2.03 ± 0.79 vs 0.73 ± 0.34; p=0.003), ALT (72.34 ± 12.35 vs 55.43 ± 5.75 U/L; p=0.009) and CK-18 (1.46 ± 0.18 vs 0.88 ± 0.18 ng/mL; p<0.001) levels and decreased AST/ALT ratio (1.16 ± 0.09 vs 1.32 ± 0.14; p=0.020) were observed in HFD group compared to NFD group. Histologically, all HFD specimens showed ballooning (8/8) and half showed steatosis (4/8). NAFLD score remained ≤3 in all specimens nevertheless CK-18 values tended to co-occur with higher ALT levels and ballooning formation within the HFD group. Conclusıon: HFD-induced obesity was associated with increased CK-18 and the hepatocellular changes as remarkable ballooning without the overt steatohepatitis. These findings support CK-18 interpreting as a signal for early hepatocellular injury in obesity. (Copyright © 2026 Özdemir, Akalın, Ekiz, Öğüten, Baş, Bayrak and Kaşko Arıcı.) |
| Competing Interests: | The author(s) declared that this work was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: cytokeratin (CK) 18; liver cell; metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease (MASLD); non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); obesity |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Keratin-18) 0 (Biomarkers) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260723 Date Completed: 20260723 Latest Revision: 20260723 |
| Update Code: | 20260723 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13388190 |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fendo.2026.1853417 |
| PMID: | 42488000 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1664-2392 |
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| DOI: | 10.3389/fendo.2026.1853417 |