TY - JOUR
T1 - Cannabinoid receptor type 2 functional variant influences liver damage in children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
AU - Rossi, Francesca
AU - Bellini, Giulia
AU - Alisi, Anna
AU - Alterio, Arianna
AU - Maione, Sabatino
AU - Perrone, Laura
AU - Locatelli, Franco
AU - Miraglia Del Giudice, Emanuele
AU - Nobili, Valerio
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) comprises a spectrum of disease ranging from simple steatosis to inflammatory steatohepatitis (NASH) with different degrees of fibrosis that can ultimately progress to cirrhosis. Accumulating evidence suggests the involvement of the endocannabinoid-system in liver disease and related complications. In particular, hepatoprotective properties for Cannabinoid Receptor type 2 (CB2) have been shown both through experimental murine models of liver injury and association study between a CB2 functional variant, Q63R, and liver enzymes in Italian obese children with steatosis. Here, in order to clarify the role of CB2 in severity of childhood NAFLD, we have investigated the association of the CB2 Q63R variant, with histological parameters of liver disease severity in 118 Italian children with histologically-proven NAFLD. CB2 Q63R genotype was assigned performing a TaqMan assay and a general linear model analysis was used to evaluate the association between the polymorphism and the histological parameters of liver damage. We have found that whereas CB2 Q63R variant is not associated with steatosis or fibrosis, it is associated with the severity of the inflammation (p = 0.002) and the presence of NASH (p = 0.02). Our findings suggest a critical role for CB2 Q63R variant in modulating hepatic inflammation state in obese children and in the consequent increased predisposition of these patients to liver damage.
AB - Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) comprises a spectrum of disease ranging from simple steatosis to inflammatory steatohepatitis (NASH) with different degrees of fibrosis that can ultimately progress to cirrhosis. Accumulating evidence suggests the involvement of the endocannabinoid-system in liver disease and related complications. In particular, hepatoprotective properties for Cannabinoid Receptor type 2 (CB2) have been shown both through experimental murine models of liver injury and association study between a CB2 functional variant, Q63R, and liver enzymes in Italian obese children with steatosis. Here, in order to clarify the role of CB2 in severity of childhood NAFLD, we have investigated the association of the CB2 Q63R variant, with histological parameters of liver disease severity in 118 Italian children with histologically-proven NAFLD. CB2 Q63R genotype was assigned performing a TaqMan assay and a general linear model analysis was used to evaluate the association between the polymorphism and the histological parameters of liver damage. We have found that whereas CB2 Q63R variant is not associated with steatosis or fibrosis, it is associated with the severity of the inflammation (p = 0.002) and the presence of NASH (p = 0.02). Our findings suggest a critical role for CB2 Q63R variant in modulating hepatic inflammation state in obese children and in the consequent increased predisposition of these patients to liver damage.
KW - N/A
KW - N/A
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/245554
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0042259
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0042259
M3 - Article
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 7
SP - N/A-N/A
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
ER -