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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Molecular Innate Immunity
Volume 16 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1544917
This article is part of the Research Topic Community Series in Biology of C-reactive Protein: Volume II View all articles
Association of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein with hepatic fibrosis in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
Provisionally accepted- 1 Changzhou Clinical College, Xuzhou Medical University, Changzhou, China
- 2 Changzhou Third People's Hospital, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels and hepatic fibrosis in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and assess its predictive efficacy.The study included 1,477 participants from the United States and 1,531 from China diagnosed with MASLD. Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) were assessed by vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) to evaluate the presence and degree of hepatic fibrosis and steatosis. The relationship between hsCRP levels and hepatic fibrosis in MASLD patients was examined using multivariable-2 adjusted and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models. Additionally, subgroup analyses were conducted to investigate the potential heterogeneity among different characteristic subgroups.The results demonstrated a significant correlation between elevated hsCRP levels and an increased risk of significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis in the US cohort of MASLD patients (OR 2.22, 1.69, and 2.85, respectively; all P <0.05). The results of the Chinese cohort were consistent with those of the US cohort, and there was a significant and positive correlation between hsCRP levels and the risk of hepatic fibrosis in patients with MASLD (OR 2.53, 3.85, and 3.78, respectively, all P <0.001). The RCS analysis revealed a significant nonlinear relationship between hsCRP levels and the degree of hepatic fibrosis, with disparate inflection point values observed across different cohorts (approximately 9 mg/L in the US cohort and 4 mg/L in the Chinese cohort). The impact of hsCRP levels on the risk of hepatic fibrosis varied across different subgroups with distinct characteristics.The present study demonstrated a significant correlation between hsCRP levels and the degree of hepatic fibrosis in patients with MASLD, with notable dose-response relationships and subgroup differences.
Keywords: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, hepatic fibrosis, cross-regional study, Dose-response relationship
Received: 13 Dec 2024; Accepted: 23 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Zheng, Zhang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Fan Zhang, Changzhou Clinical College, Xuzhou Medical University, Changzhou, China
Wenjian Li, Changzhou Clinical College, Xuzhou Medical University, Changzhou, China
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