The Importance of Serum Perilipin-2 Level as an Early Indicator of Inflammation in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Damian

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), also termed metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), is the most prevalent chronic liver disorder and is tightly linked with obesity and metabolic syndrome. This study examines perilipin-2 (PLIN2), a major hepatic lipid droplet protein implicated in lipid accumulation and inflammation, to clarify its role in NAFLD pathogenesis. Forty-six NAFLD patients were compared with 44 healthy controls. Serum PLIN2 was significantly higher in NAFLD and correlated positively with BMI, hip circumference, CRP, and platelet count. ROC analysis suggested a 5.52 ng/mL cut-off with 50% sensitivity and 97.7% specificity, supporting PLIN2 as a complementary diagnostic biomarker influenced by metabolic and inflammatory parameters.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Background on NAFLD and MAFLD

Imaging and diagnostic approaches

Lipid droplets and PLIN2 biology

Article The Importance of Serum Perilipin-2 Level as an Early Indicator of Inflammation in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Omer Vehbi Alpaydin 1, Eda Nur Duran 1, Ayse Hur Alpaydin 1, Iskender Ekinci 2, Seyma Dumur 3, Hafize Uzun 3, Murat Akarsu 1, Isa Yalcinkaya 4 and Omur Tabak 1, * Academic Editor: ConsolatoM. Sergi Received: 19 November 2025 Revised: 23 December 2025 Accepted: 24 December 2025 Published: 28 December 2025 Copyright: © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. 1 Department of Internal Medicine, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul 34255, Türkiye; [vehbialpaydin@gmail.com](vehbialpaydin@gmail.com) (O.V.A.); [enurduran@gmail.com](enurduran@gmail.com) (E.N.D.); [aysehur.93.a1@gmail.com](aysehur.93.a1@gmail.com) (A.H.A.); [muratakarsu79@gmail.com](muratakarsu79@gmail.com) (M.A.) 2 Department of Internal Medicine, BezmialemVakif University, Istanbul 34093, Türkiye; [driskenderekinci@gmail.com](driskenderekinci@gmail.com) 3 Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul Atlas University, Istanbul 34403, Türkiye; [seyma.dumur@atlas.edu.tr](seyma.dumur@atlas.edu.tr) (S.D.); [hafize.uzun@atlas.edu.tr](hafize.uzun@atlas.edu.tr) (H.U.) 4 Department of Hematology, Basaksehir Cam and Sakura City Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul 34255, Türkiye; [isayk@hotmail.com](isayk@hotmail.com) * Correspondence: [omurtabak@yahoo.com.tr](omurtabak@yahoo.com.tr) Abstract Background/Objectives: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), also referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), is the most common chronic liver disease, closely associated with obesity and Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) . Perilipin-2 (PLIN2), the most abundant lipid droplet protein in the liver, is linked to lipid accumulation and inflammation, the hallmarks of NAFLD. The role of PLIN2 in NAFLD etiopathogenesis remains partially understood. This study aims to elucidate the relationship between serum PLIN2 levels and other disease-related parameters in NAFLD, investigate the role of PLIN2 in disease pathogenesis, and evaluate its utility as a biomarker in NAFLD diagnosis. Methods: The study included 46 patients diagnosed with NAFLD who presented internal medicine outpatient clinics and 44 healthy controls. Results: Serum PLIN2 level was found to be statistically significantly higher in the NAFLD patient group compared to the control group. In the NAFLD group, a statistically significant positive correlation was detected between PLIN2 and Body Mass Index (BMI), hip circumference, C-reactive protein (CRP), and platelet count. In ROC analysis, taking the cut-off value for serum PLIN2 level as 5.52 ng/mL predicted the diagnosis of NAFLD with 50% sensitivity and 97.7% specificity. Conclusions: PLIN2 determination demonstrated high specificity at the proposed cut-off value and may represent a promising complementary biomarker for NAFLD, particularly when interpreted alongside other clinical and laboratory parameters. Circulating PLIN2 appears to be influenced by metabolic and inflammatory parameters. Keywords: hepatic steatosis index; inflammation; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; perilipin-2 1. Introduction Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), also referred to as metabolic dysfunctionassociated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), is a metabolic disorder characterized by the accumulation of more than 5% fat in hepatocytes, closely associated with other metabolic abnormalities such as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D), obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and insulin resistance (IR) [1] . To resolve issues associated with the former NAFLD nomenclature, APASL pioneered the adoption of the MAFLD definition, shifting the diagnostic focus to the presence of metabolic dysfunction

FAQs

What is the purpose of measuring serum PLIN2 in NAFLD?

To clarify the relationship between serum PLIN2 levels and other NAFLD-related parameters, assess PLIN2’s role in disease pathogenesis, and evaluate its usefulness as a biomarker for NAFLD diagnosis.

How does serum PLIN2 differ between NAFLD patients and healthy controls?

Serum PLIN2 levels are statistically significantly higher in the NAFLD patient group than in the control group.

What diagnostic performance did PLIN2 show in ROC analysis?

Using a proposed cut-off of 5.52 ng/mL, PLIN2 predicted NAFLD with 50% sensitivity and 97.7% specificity.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Damian