Figure 4

CD5L mRNA expression is not altered in association with either fat, inflammation or fibrosis scores in pre-cirrhotic NAFLD liver tissues. mRNA CD5L expression was quantified by real-time PCR, relative to GAPDH and a normal liver sample, in 21 pre-cirrhotic NAFLD biopsy tissues, 13 normal liver samples taken at the time of liver resection, one cirrhotic liver and one HCC. As shown in 4A-C, there was no difference in any pre-cirrhotic NAFLD biopsy tissues in association with the degree of fat, inflammation or fibrosis. There was a significant increase in the NAFLD tissues as a group (n = 21), compared with normal liver tissues (n = 13) as represented in 4D (6.945 ± 0.722 versus1.68 ± 0.269; p = 0.000, ***). The elevated CD5L mRNA expression in one cirrhotic and HCC tissue pair, obtained at the time of laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation, is also presented in 4C and is in keeping with the elevated serum CD5L levels identified in the larger cohort of patients studied.