Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40726500›Full record

ArticleDiabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy2025

Serum LEAP2 Levels Across the Spectrum of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease: A Potential Noninvasive Biomarker for Severity Stratification.

Xinyang Huang, Zihao Deng, Xiaozhou Li, Songxin Yan, Kunjiang Zhong, Fengning Yuan, Ligang Liu, Chaolin Deng, Tingting Liu, Ruizhao Zhao and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Xinyang Huang *Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Zihao Deng *Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0009-0008-0022-1950
Xiaozhou LiSurgery Centre of Diabetes Mellitus, Capital Medical University Affiliated Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Songxin YanDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, People's Republic of China.
Kunjiang ZhongCapital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Fengning YuanBeijing Stomatological Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Ligang LiuInstitute of Therapeutic Innovations and Outcomes (ITIO), College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Chaolin DengDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Tingting LiuDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Capital Medical University Affiliated Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Ruizhao ZhaoCapital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Amin BuheSurgery Centre of Diabetes Mellitus, Capital Medical University Affiliated Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0002-8997-5458
Tianxiong LiSurgery Centre of Diabetes Mellitus, Capital Medical University Affiliated Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Hao ZhaoSurgery Centre of Diabetes Mellitus, Capital Medical University Affiliated Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0003-2063-4652

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate circulating liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP2) as a potential noninvasive biomarker for the presence of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and its progression to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Patients and Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled obese patients with MAFLD, categorized into simple steatosis (SS) or MASH based on liver histopathology, along with healthy controls (HC). Serum levels LEAP2 were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Baseline characteristics were compared among groups, followed by univariable and multivariate ordinary logistic regression to identify MAFLD predictors. The diagnostic performance of LEAP2 was evaluated through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Additionally, Hepatic LEAP2 transcriptomic data from public Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE126848, GSE135251) were analyzed for validation. Results: Seventy-four participants (24 HC, 24 SS, 26 MASH) were analyzed. Serum LEAP2 levels significantly and progressively increased with MAFLD severity (median ng/mL: HC 11.54, SS 13.62, MASH 18.34; P<0.001), correlating positively with disease stage (Spearman's Conclusion: Serum LEAP2 levels progressively increase with MAFLD severity and are independently associated with the disease. LEAP2 demonstrates potential as a noninvasive biomarker for assessing MAFLD severity, particularly in distinguishing MASH from healthy individuals. These findings warrant further investigation into LEAP2's pathophysiological role and therapeutic potential.

Indexed as

biomarkerhepatic steatosisLEAP2MAFLDMASH

Identifiers

PMID40726500
PMCPMC12301118

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.