Circulating irisin levels in patients with MAFLD: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

Chenglu Shen; Kaihan Wu; Yani Ke; Qin Zhang; Shuaihang Chen; Qicong Li; Yuting Ruan; Xudan Yang; Shan Liu; Jie Hu

doi:10.3389/fendo.2024.1464951

Circulating irisin levels in patients with MAFLD: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2024 Dec 17:15:1464951. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1464951. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Chenglu Shen¹, Kaihan Wu¹, Yani Ke², Qin Zhang¹, Shuaihang Chen³, Qicong Li¹, Yuting Ruan¹, Xudan Yang¹, Shan Liu⁴, Jie Hu⁵

Affiliations

¹ The First Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
² School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
³ The Second Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Department of Clinical Evaluation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁵ Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Abstract

Objective: Current research suggests that irisin is closely linked to the pathogenesis and progression of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). This systematic review and meta-analysis updates our previous meta-analysis and further explores the relevance between circulating irisin levels and MAFLD.

Methods: Nine databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, Weipu, CBM, Clinicaltrials.gov and gray literature) were retrieved as of 1^st August, 2024. The standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) represent pooled effect size. We used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to evaluate the quality of articles and the certainty of evidence assessed by GRADE system. All statistical analyses were performed using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 12(Stata Corporation, yi TX).

Results: Fifteen case-control studies were included. Circulating irisin levels in the MAFLD group were markedly lower than those in the healthy group (SMD=-1.04 [-1.93, -0.14]). Subgroup analyses by race, age, severity and T2DM revealed that circulating irisin levels were lower in the MAFLD group compared to those in the healthy controls in the Asian population (SMD=-1.38 [-2.44, -0.31], P<0.05) and in those above 50 years old (SMD=-2.23 [-3.64, -0.81], P<0.05) and higher in the mild MAFLD groups than those in moderate to severe MAFLD groups (SMD = 11.68 [9.05, 14.31], P<0.05). And the circulating irisin levels in MAFLD patients with T2DM were significantly lower than those in healthy group (SMD = -2.90 [-4.49, -1.30]). ELISA kits from different companies also presented different relationships.

Conclusions: There were significantly lower circulating irisin levels in the MAFLD group than in the healthy control group. Although these results differed from our previous results, there is no denying that circulating irisin levels are closely associated with the advancement of MAFLD.

Keywords: irisin; meta-analysis; metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; systematic review.

Publication types

Systematic Review
Meta-Analysis

MeSH terms

Biomarkers / blood
Case-Control Studies
Fatty Liver / blood
Fibronectins* / blood
Humans
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / blood

Substances

Fibronectins
FNDC5 protein, human
Biomarkers

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the Medical science and Technology Project of Zhejiang Province (2023KY140), Medical science and Technology Project of Zhejiang Province (2022KY921), Major Medical science and Technology Project of Zhejiang Province (WKJ-ZJ-2537).