Platelet-derived growth factor receptor-[beta] as a non-invasive biomarker for liver fibrosis prediction in Egyptian diabetic patients with metabolic-associated fatty liver disease

• Published in: BMC gastroenterology Vol. 25; no. 1
• Main Authors: Badran, Hanaa, Elsabaawy, Maha, Magdy, Mai, Omar, Hazem, Hendy, Olfat, Awaad, Eman, Al-Khalifa, Maymona Abd El-Wahed, Abozeid, Mai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: BioMed Central Ltd 17.07.2025
• Subjects: Blood platelets; Causes of; Diabetics; Fatty liver; Fibrosis; Liver diseases; Physiological aspects; Receptors; Egypt
• ISSN: 1471-230X; 1471-230X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12876-024-03542-y

Background Circulating platelet-derived growth factor receptor-[beta] (PDGFR[beta]) has recently been found to correlate with severity of liver disease in multiple etiologies, including liver steatosis. In diabetic patients with metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), widely used non-invasive scoring systems, particularly the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score, showed unsatisfactory performance in predicting liver fibrosis severity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the productivity of serum PDGFR[beta] as a non-invasive biomarker of liver fibrosis in diabetic MAFLD patients. Methods This was a population-based case-control study conducted on 50 diabetic MAFLD patients, 40 nondiabetic MAFLD patients, and 40 healthy controls. All subjects underwent complete history taking, clinical examination, anthropometric measurements, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and laboratory tests, including the PDGFR[beta] assay. Hepatic steatosis was assessed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), along with magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) for the assessment of liver fibrosis. The diagnostic performance of PDGFR[beta] as well as PDGFR[beta] + FIB-4 in prediction of significant liver fibrosis in diabetic MAFLD patients was assessed. Results Liver steatosis and significant liver fibrosis ([greater than or equal to] F2) were significantly higher in diabetic MAFLD patients than in nondiabetics. PDGFR[beta] levels were significantly higher in both diabetic and nondiabetic MAFLD patients compared to controls. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of PDGFR[beta] to predict significant liver fibrosis in diabetic MAFLD patients were 85%, 93.33%, 89.5%, and 90.3%, respectively, at a cutoff > 2.54, and were 85.71%, 51.52%, 27.3%, and 94.4% at a cutoff > 1.59 in nondiabetics. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of (PDGFR[beta] at a cutoff > 2.54 + FIB-4 at a cutoff > 1.17) to predict significant liver fibrosis in diabetic MAFLD patients were 100%. PDGFR[beta] was the only independent predictor of significant liver fibrosis in diabetic MAFLD (p = 0.006). Conclusions PDGFR[beta] proved efficacy as a noninvasive biomarker in the prediction of significant liver fibrosis ([greater than or equal to] F2) in diabetic MAFLD patients. Keywords: Liver fibrosis, Diabetes mellitus, MAFLD, PDGFR[beta]