Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42093609›Full record

ArticleLiver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver2026

Faecal Cathepsin B and S Are Associated With Liver Disease Severity and Adiposity in MASLD.

Aenne Harberts, Marcos F Fondevila, Henriette Kreimeyer, Takao Miwa, Sonja Lang, Münevver Demir, Bernd Schnabl

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Article in Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Aenne HarbertsDepartment of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0143-8106
Marcos F FondevilaDepartment of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5099-3421
Henriette KreimeyerDepartment of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
Takao MiwaDepartment of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
Sonja LangFaculty of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Münevver DemirDepartment of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum (CVK) and Campus Charité Mitte (CCM), Berlin, Germany.
Bernd SchnablDepartment of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6281-825X

Funding

San Diego Digestive Diseases Research CenterP30DK120515 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI LARS ECKMANN, Bernd G. Schnabl · 2019 to 2026
$10.8M
The Role of the Intestinal Mycobiome in Alcoholic Liver DiseaseR01AA024726 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI Bernd G. Schnabl · 2018 to 2026
$3.9M
Intestinal proteases in alcohol-associated liver diseaseR01AA031710 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI SCHNABL, BERND G. · 2025 to 2025
$3.2M
Microbiome and Intestinal Innate Immune Response in Alcoholic Liver DiseaseR37AA020703 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI Bernd G. Schnabl · 2021 to 2026
$2.5M
BLRD VA I01 BX004594NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA024726NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA031710NIAAA NIH HHS R37 AA020703NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK120515NIH HHS P30 DK120515NIH HHS R01 AA031710NIH HHS R01 AA24726NIH HHS R37 AA020703
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND &

aimsDysregulation of hepatic cathepsins contributes to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) by promoting inflammation, apoptosis, and fibrosis. However, the role of intestinal cathepsins in MASLD has not been investigated. Given the central role of the gut-liver axis in disease progression, this represents an important knowledge gap.

methodsFaecal cathepsin B and S activity was measured in 95 patients with MASLD and 18 healthy controls. Cathepsin activity was correlated with liver disease severity, metabolic parameters, and gut microbiome composition.

resultsFaecal cathepsin B and S activity was higher in patients with MASLD than in healthy controls. Cathepsin B activity was further increased in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. Cathepsin B and S activity correlated with serum transaminases and hepatic steatosis, while cathepsin B activity was additionally associated with liver stiffness. Cathepsin B and S activity correlated with adiposity but showed no associations with other metabolic dysfunction-related parameters. Moreover, gut microbiome composition differed between patients with low vs. high faecal cathepsin B or S activity, respectively.

conclusionIncreased faecal cathepsin B and S activity is associated with liver disease severity and adiposity in MASLD and is linked to alterations of the gut microbiome, suggesting a potential role of intestinal cathepsins in gut-liver axis dysfunction.

Indexed as

AdiposityCathepsin BCathepsinsFecesNon-alcoholic Fatty Liver DiseaseAdultCase-Control StudiesFemaleGastrointestinal MicrobiomeHumansLiverMaleMiddle AgedSeverity of Illness IndexCathepsin Bcathepsin SCathepsinsCTSB protein, humanadipositycathepsin Bcathepsin Sgut‐liver axisMASLDmicrobiome

Identifiers

PMID42093609
PMCPMC13245151

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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.