Value of zonulin as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in different degrees of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract Background Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a group of hepatic disorders ranging between simple form of accumulation of fat in hepatocytes (hepatic steatosis) and inflammation of liver internal tissues and injury of hepatocytes that is known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with increasing levels of fibrosis and cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The composition of one’s gut microbiota has a role in both the onset and progression of chronic liver disorders. One indicator of intestinal permeability is zonulin. In this study, we aimed to detect the value of zonulin as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in patients with different degrees of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (steatosis, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis). This case–control study was conducted on 60 subjects in Gastroenterology and Bariatric Surgery Departments at Ain Shams University Hospitals who were divided into 3 groups: Group A: 20 patients underwent bariatric surgery and have mild NASH, Group B: 20 patients underwent bariatric surgery and have moderate-to-severe NASH, and Group C: 20 healthy controls, during a period 1 of year. Results There was high statistically significant difference between the studied groups; as regard zonulin concentration, zonulin showed high diagnostic accuracy in diagnosis of NASH among hepatic patients with total accuracy of 81.7%, sensitivity of 72.5%, and specificity of 100. Conclusion Serum zonulin levels increase with steatosis severity in patients with NAFLD. This explains the high diagnostic accuracy of zonulin in diagnosis and prognosis of NASH among patients.