RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: The aim of the current study was to examine the difference between patients detected with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and healthy subjects in terms of serum angiopoietin-like protein (ANGPTL) 2 and ANGPTL6 levels and to evaluate the correlation between ANGPTL2 and ANGPTL6 levels and liver enzyme levels, fasting glucose, lipid levels, and steatosis degree on ultrasonography (USG). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 159 participants were included in the study. The participants were divided into 3 groups depending on the steatosis degree on USG and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels: the NAFLD group with increased ALT, the NAFLD group with normal ALT, and the healthy control group. The groups were compared in terms of biochemical and ultrasonographic findings, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and anthropometric parameters. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between NAFLD patients and healthy subjects with respect to serum ANGPTL2 and ANGPTL6 levels (p > 0.05). ANGPTL2 levels did not correlate with serum, biochemical, or ultrasonographic findings, or anthropometric parameters (p > 0.05). A positive correlation was found between serum ANGPTL6 levels and fasting blood glucose, ALT, alkaline phosphatase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR levels. CONCLUSIONS: While our findings suggest no relationship between serum ANGPTL2 and ANGPTL6 levels and NAFLD, ANGPTL6 levels may be related to metabolic and biochemical parameters. The effects of ANGPTL2 and ANGPTL6 in the pathogenesis of NAFLD should be investigated further.
RESUMEN
In multicellular parasites (e.g., nematodes and protozoa), proteins and glycolipids have been found to be decorated with phosphorylcholine (PC). PC can provoke various effects on immune cells leading to an immunomodulation of the host's immune system. This immunomodulation allows long-term persistence but also prevents severe pathology due to downregulation of cellular immune responses. PC-containing antigens have been found to interfere with key proliferative signaling pathways in B and T cells, development of dendritic cells and macrophages, and mast cell degranulation. These effects contribute to the observed modulated cytokine levels and impairment of lymphocyte proliferation. In contrast to glycosphingolipids, little is known about the PC-epitopes of proteins. So far, only a limited number of PC-modified proteins from nematodes have been identified. In this project, PC-substituted proteins and glycolipids in Ascaris suum have been localized by immunohistochemistry in specific tissues of the body wall, intestine, and reproductive tract. Subsequently, we investigated the PCome of A. suum by 2D gel-based proteomics and detection by Western blotting using the PC-specific antibody TEPC-15. By peptide-mass-fingerprint matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), we could identify 59 PC-substituted proteins, which are in involved multiple cellular processes. In addition to membrane proteins like vitellogenin-6, we found proteins with structural (e.g., tubulins) and metabolic (e.g., pyruvate dehydrogenase) functions or which can act in the defense against the host's immune response (e.g., serpins). Initial characterization of the PC-epitopes revealed a predominant linkage of PC to the proteins via N-glycans. Our data form the basis for more detailed investigations of the PC-epitope structures as a prerequisite for comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms of immunomodulation.