A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Metabolic Dysfunction-associated Steatotic Liver Disease Alters Fatty Acid Profiles in the Liver and Adipose Tissue
Authors: Palomurto, Saana; Virtanen, Kirsi A.; Karja, Vesa; Schwab, Ursula; Kaminska, Dorota; Kakela, Pirjo; Pihlajamäki, Jussi; Männistö, Ville
Publisher: The Endocrine Society
Publishing place: WASHINGTON
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
Journal name in source: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Journal acronym: J CLIN ENDOCR METAB
Article number: dgaf346
Number of pages: 9
ISSN: 0021-972X
eISSN: 1945-7197
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgaf346
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgaf346
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499407883
Context: The alterations in systemic fatty acid (FA) metabolism in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) remain unclear.
Objective: To investigate inter-tissue crosstalk in FA metabolism in patients with MASLD, we compared FA profiles in the liver, serum, visceral, and subcutaneous adipose tissue of patients with severe obesity and normal liver, simple steatosis, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Methods: Preoperative serum, liver, subcutaneous, and visceral adipose tissue samples were collected during laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery from 183 patients with severe obesity patients (122 women, mean age 46.9 ± 9.7 years, body mass index 43.5 ± 5.7 kg/m2). FA composition was analyzed using gas-liquid chromatography. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the FA proportions in different tissue depots.
Results: FA proportions varied more in the liver than in adipose tissue in patients with MASH. Polyunsaturated FAs (PUFA) proportions were significantly lower in the livers of patients with MASH than in those with normal livers (all adjusted P< 0.01). Conversely, dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid, adrenic acid, and arachidonic acid proportions were higher in the adipose tissues of patients with MASH (all adjusted p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Patients with MASH exhibited reduced hepatic PUFA content, increased hepatic saturated FAs, and a higher n6-to-n3 PUFA ratio, whereas no clear trends were observed in adipose tissue. These findings highlight distinct differences in FA metabolism between the liver and adipose tissue in MASLD, emphasizing tissue-specific regulatory mechanisms.
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Funding information in the publication:
S.P. was supported by the Finnish Medical Foundation and Mary and Georg C. Ehrnrooth Foundation. Kuopio Obesity Surgery Study was supported by the Finnish Diabetes Research Foundation, Kuopio University Hospital (EVO/VTR grants 2005-2021), the Academy of Finland (grant no. 138006) (contract no. 138006), the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and the University of Eastern Finland Spearhead Funding (J.P.). V.M. was supported by the Finnish Medical Foundation, Sigrid Juselius Foundation, and State Research Funding for university-level health research, Kuopio University Hospital. Open access funding provided by University of Eastern Finland (UEF) including Kuopio University Hospital. The researchers are independent of the funders. The funding sources had no role in the design and conduct of the study; the collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
