Liver tissue proteins improve the accuracy of plasma proteins as
biomarkers in diagnosing metabolic dysfunction-associated
steatohepatitis
Abstract
Background: Biomarkers for metabolic dysfunction-associated
steatohepatitis (MASH) have been considered based on proteomic and
lipidomic data from plasma and liver tissue without clinical benefits.
This study evaluated proteomics-based plasma and liver tissue biomarkers
collected simultaneously from patients with metabolic
dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Methods: Liver
tissue samples and plasma samples were collected during liver biopsy for
diagnosis. Untargeted proteomics was performed on 64 patients with
MASLD. Results: Twenty plasma proteins were up or downregulated in
patients with MASH compared with those without MASH. The biomarkers
utilizing the best combinations of these plasma proteins had an area
under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) of 0.671 for detecting those
with MASH compared with those without it. However, none of the 20 plasma
proteins were represented among the significantly regulated liver tissue
proteins in patients with MASH. Ten of them displayed a trend and
relevance in liver tissue with MASLD progression. These ten plasma
proteins had an AUROC of 0.793 for MASH identification and higher
positive and negative predictive values. Conclusion: The plasma and
liver protein expressions of patients with MASH were not directly
comparable. Plasma protein biomarkers that are also expressed in liver
tissue can help improve MASH detection.