[Metabolic study of iron deposition based on magnetic resonance in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease].

Objective: To explore the relationship between liver iron deposition and steatosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) through MRI. Methods: 163 cases of liver biopsy underwent MRI examination. R2* was used to measure liver iron content. Dixon-based proton density fat fraction (PDFF) was used to measure liver fat content. One-way ANOVA, r-correlation, ROC curve, and others were used to assess the relationship between clinical case data, serological indices, and imaging results in accordance with the pathological results of the liver biopsy. Results: R2* gradually increased as the pathological steatosis grade rose. The R2* that corresponded to no steatosis (< 5%), mild steatosis (14.95%±8.55%), moderate steatosis (46.30%±9.32%), and severe steatosis (73.86%±6.35%) were 27.56±4.40, 31.06±5.95, 38.06±4.80, and 48.10±5.55 (P < 0.001), respectively. There was a positive correlation between R2* and liver steatosis content (r= 0.769, P < 0.05). The area under the ROC curve and cut-off value were 0.88 and 31.77, respectively, and there was no distinct relationship with liver inflammation or fibrosis. Conclusion: R2* can quantitatively and non-invasively evaluate liver iron deposition in patients with NAFLD. A distinct relationship exists between liver steatosis and iron deposition, and iron deposition tends to increase as the steatosis aggravates.

[Studying the correlation between ferritin and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease].

Objective: To analyze the correlation between serum ferritin and steatosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Methods: Data of 167 cases who underwent liver biopsy in the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University were collected. Hydrogen proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy were performed within one week. The pathological results of liver biopsy were used as the gold standard to analyze the case data, serological indicators, magnetic resonance spectroscopy-proton density fat fraction. Results: Pathological monitoring result showed that the serum ferritin in patients without steatosis, and with mild, moderate and severe steatosis were (206.20 ± 189.83), (286.65 ± 200.80), (326.55 ± 214.71), (391.50 ± 184.93) ng/ml, respectively, P < 0.005. Serum ferritin was correlated to body mass index, PDFF, alanine aminotransferase, gamma glutamyltransferase, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein. The area under ​​the receiver operating characteristic curve with ferritin for the diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease was 0.716, and the optimal diagnostic threshold was 214.56 ng/ml. The sensitivity and specificity were 80.1%, and 68.8%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the intralobular inflammation, fibrosis, and ferritin. Prussian blue iron staining had no apparent deposition of iron particles. Conclusion: Ferritin has significant positive correlation with the results of pathological and magnetic resonance imaging for liver steatosis. Therefore, it can be used as a non-invasive diagnostic method for liver steatosis evaluation.

[Study of liver fat and iron deposition quantification based on magnetic resonance imaging in rats with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease].

Objective: To investigate the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for quantitative determination of liver fat and iron content through a rat model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) induced by methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet. Methods: Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into experimental (MCD-diet group, n = 30) and normal control group (normal diet, n = 30). Rats were subjected to special MRI examinations at the ends of 2, 4, and 8 weeks. Proton density fat fraction (PDFF) and R2* value were obtained, and then the rats were sacrificed. The liver tissues were stained with HE, Prussian blue, etc. Liver tissue non-heme iron (NHI) homogenate was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. According to different data, one-way analysis of variance, t-test or χ (2) test was used for statistical analysis. Results: PDFF and R2 * values in the MCD diet group at 2, 4 and 8 weeks were 23.37% ± 9.20%, 28.07% ± 6.84%, 25.40% ± 7.04% (P < 0.01) and 90.58 ± 15.92, 104.12 ± 13.47, 106.35 ± 15.76 (P < 0.05), respectively, which were significantly higher than the normal control group PDFF (2.39% ± 0.50%, 2.45% ± 0.45%, 3.26% ± 0.80%) and R2* (48.93 ± 7.90, 54.71 ± 5.91, 64.25 ± 15.76). Additionally, with the disease progression, R2 * had gradually increased, which was consistent with the NHI trend in liver tissue homogenates of each group. Conclusion: MRI, as a non-invasive quantitative method, can accurately assess liver fat and iron content in fatty liver disease, and with the degree of severity of fat changes, iron deposits tend to increase.

Analysis of evolution and genetic diversity of sweetpotato and its related different polyploidy wild species I. trifida using RAD-seq.

BACKGROUND: Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is one of the most important crops from the family of Convolvulaceae. It is widely reported that cultivated sweetpotato was originated from Ipomoea trifida. However, diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid I. trifida were found in nature. The relationship, between them, and among them and sweetpotato, is remaining unclear. RESULTS: In the present study, we detected the genome diversity and relationship of sweetpotato and different polyploidy types I. trifida using Restriction-site Associated DNA Sequencing (RAD-seq). A total of 38,605 RAD-tags containing 832,204 SNPs had been identified. These tags were annotated using five public databases, about 11,519 tags were aligned to functional genes in various pathways. Based on SNP genotype, phylogenetic relation analysis results confirmed that cultivated sweetpotato has a closer relationship with I. trifida 6× than with I. trifida 4X and I. trifida 2×. Besides, 5042 SSRs were detected in I. trifida 6×, and 3202 pairs of high-quality SSR primers were developed. A total of 68 primers were randomly selected and synthesized, of which 61 were successfully amplified. CONCLUSION: These results provided new evidence that cultivated sweetpotato originated from I. trifida 6×, and that I. trifida 6× evolved from I. trifida 4X and I. trifida 2×. Therefore, using I. trifida 6× as the model plant of sweetpotato research should be more practical than using I. trifida 2× in the future. Meanwhile, sequence information and markers from the present study will be helpful for sweetpotato and I. trifida studies in the future.

[Value of hydrogen proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the determination of liver triglyceride in patients with fatty liver disease and its influencing factors].

Objective: To investigate the value of 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) in determining the content of liver triglyceride in patients with fatty liver disease (FLD), as well as its influencing factors. Methods: A total of 124 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), chronic hepatitis B (CHB), or hepatitis B complicated by FLD who underwent liver biopsy in the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University were enrolled, and the clinical data, serological markers, FibroScan results, and (1)H-MRS results were collected. A correlation analysis was performed with the results of liver biopsy as the gold standard, and the influence of factors including hepatitic B virus (HBV) infection and obesity on accuracy was analyzed. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of means between the three groups, and the LSD or SNK test (for homogeneity of variance) or the Tamhane's or Dunnett's test (heterogeneity of variance) was used for comparison between any two groups. The t-test was used for comparison of continuous data between groups, and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data. The MRS-PDFF receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated, the optimal cut-off points for the diagnosis of NAFLD were estimated, and sensitivity and specificity were calculated. Results: The NAFLD group (42 patients) and the CHB + NAFLD group (40 patients) had a significantly higher proton density fat fraction (PDFF, the content of triglyceride in the liver) than the CHB group (42 patients) (16.84±9.76/9.39 ± 5.50 vs 3.45 ± 1.63, P < 0.001). The results were significantly correlated with the degree of steatosis confirmed by liver biopsy (P < 0.001), but it was not significantly correlated with inflammation or fibrosis grade. The correlation analysis showed that the MRS-PDFF value measured by 1H-MRS was significantly correlated with body mass index (BMI), blood lipids, alkaline phosphatase, and blood glucose, while it was not significantly correlated with age, sex, or the presence or absence of hepatitis B. The ROC curve analysis showed that the AUCs of PDFF measured by 1H-MRS were 0.93, 0.974, and 0.976, respectively, for the diagnosis of steatosis S1(≥5%), S2(≥34%), and S3(≥66%), and the corresponding optimal thresholds were 5.14%, 11.16%, and 16.7%, respectively. Conclusion: 1H-MRS has a high diagnostic value in quantitative evaluation of the degree of liver steatosis in patients with FLD and is not affected by the factors such as HBV infection, age, and sex, while it is correlated with BMI and lipid metabolism.