# Irisin and adropin decrease in preobese or obese individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

**Authors:** Cuma MERTOĞLU, Yaprak Şule ÖREK, Bülent ALBAYRAK, Yusuf Kemal ARSLAN, Abdulkadir ÇOBAN

PMC · DOI: 10.55730/1300-0144.6110 · 2025-10-03

## TL;DR

The study found that irisin and adropin levels are lower in preobese or obese individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, suggesting a possible link to the condition's progression.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is the observation that irisin and adropin levels decrease in NAFLD patients regardless of disease severity.

## Key findings

- Serum adropin and irisin levels were significantly lower in NAFLD groups compared to controls.
- No significant difference in adropin and irisin levels was found between different NAFLD grades.
- Higher red cell distribution width was observed in NAFLD Grade 1 compared to controls.

## Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a metabolic disease that is commonly observed in individuals with obesity. The present study investigates the irisin and adropin levels of sera in preobese or obese adults with NAFLD.

Included in the study were 89 patients who were categorized into four groups: Group 1: 25 normal-weight individuals without NAFLD (Control group); Group 2: 17 preobese or obese individuals without NAFLD; Group 3: 24 preobese or obese individuals with Grade 1 NAFLD; and Group 4: 23 preobese or obese individuals with Grade 2–3 NAFLD. The demographic details of all participants were recorded. Abdominal ultrasonography and anthropometric assessments were conducted. Serum adropin and irisin levels were determined using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method.

Serum adropin and irisin levels were lower in Groups 3 and 4 than in Group 1 (between the all groups; p = 0.006, p = 0.001, respectively), but were comparable between Groups 3 and 4. Furthermore, the atherogenic index of Group 1 was lower than that of Group 4 (p < 0.001). Among the hemogram parameters, the red cell distribution width value was higher in Group 3 than in Group 1 (p = 0.031).

Serum adropin and irisin levels decrease in the presence of NAFLD, regardless of disease severity, which may play a role in the development and exacerbation of NAFLD in preobese and obese individuals.

## Linked entities

- **Proteins:** FNDC5 (fibronectin type III domain containing 5), Enho (energy homeostasis associated)
- **Diseases:** nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (MONDO:0013209), NAFLD (MONDO:0013209)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** ENHO (energy homeostasis associated) [NCBI Gene 375704] {aka C9orf165, UNQ470}, FNDC5 (fibronectin type III domain containing 5) [NCBI Gene 252995] {aka FRCP2, irisin}
- **Diseases:** NAFLD (MESH:D065626), atherogenic (MESH:D050197), obese (MESH:D009765), metabolic disease (MESH:D008659)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Figures

2 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12779015/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12779015