High circulating fibroblast growth factor-21 levels as a screening marker in fatty pancreas patients

PeerJ. 2023 Apr 12:11:e15176. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15176. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Background: The study aimed to detect the serum levels of fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21) in fatty pancreas (FP) patients and to investigate their potential clinical value.

Methods: We screened patients with FP using transabdominal ultrasound. The anthropometric, biochemical and serum levels of FGF-21 were compared between the FP group and the normal control (NC) group. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of serum FGF-21 for FP patients.

Results: Compared with the NC group, body mass index, fasting blood glucose levels, uric acid levels and cholesterol levels of the FP group were significantly higher, while the high-density lipoprotein level was lower. In addition, levels of serum FGF-21, resistin, leptin and tumor necrosis factor-α were significantly higher than those in the NC group, while the serum adiponectin level was lower. Pearson analysis showed serum FGF-21 levels in FP patients were negatively correlated with leptin. The ROC curve showed the best critical value of the serum FGF-21 level in FP patients was 171 pg/mL (AUC 0.744, P = 0.002, 95% confidence intervals 0.636-0.852).

Conclusion: Serum FGF-21 was closely related to fatty pancreas. Detecting serum FGF-21 levels may help identify the population susceptible to FP.

Keywords: Adipocytokine; Fatty pancreas; Fibroblast growth factor-21; Metabolic diseases; Prognostic marker.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adiponectin / blood
  • Fibroblast Growth Factors* / blood
  • Humans
  • Leptin / blood
  • Pancreas / physiopathology
  • Pancreatic Diseases* / blood
  • Pancreatic Diseases* / diagnosis

Substances

  • Adiponectin
  • fibroblast growth factor 21
  • Fibroblast Growth Factors
  • Leptin

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Key Project for Social Development in Jiangsu Province (No. BE2019698), Strengthening Health Care via Science and Education Project and Clinical Medical Innovation Platform Foundation of Yangzhou (No. YXZX20184) and Major public health projects in Yangzhou: Screening projects of early gastrointestinal diseases (2018). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.