Plasma Fibrinogen-Like Protein 2 Levels in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

BACKGROUND/AIMS Fibrinogen-like protein 2 (fgl2), has recently been identified as a new member of the fibrinogen-like family of proteins. In this study we assayed plasma levels of fgl2 in patients with biopsy proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and examined their association with clinical, biochemical and histological phenotypes. METHODOLOGY Levels of plasma fgl2 were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and compared between the study groups. Moreover, concentrations of fgl2 were assessed in relation to the general characteristics of the study participants and the results of the liver biopsy. RESULTS Levels of fgl2 were significantly higher in patients with definite non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (788±190pg/mL, p