Scientific publications

The adenosine pathway plays a key role in the development of liver pathologies, in particular by limiting inflammatory responses. The role of ecto-5'-nucleotidase (CD73), which hydrolyzes AMP to extracellular adenosine, in the development of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the mRNA level of the NT5E gene encoding CD73 and the frequency of CD4⁺ T cells and CD14⁺ monocytes expressing CD73 in the blood of patients with different forms of MAFLD – hepatic steatosis (HS) and metabolic-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). The mRNA level of the NT5E gene in the peripheral blood of healthy individuals (n=29), HS patients (n=31) and MASH patients (n=25) was determined by real-time PCR and the frequency of CD73⁺ cells by flow cytometry. The relationship between the studied parameters and clinical and laboratory blood parameters was assessed. Despite the fact that the examined groups did not differ in NT5E gene expression, we found changes in the frequency of individual cell populations expressing CD73. In patients with MAFLD, both with HS and with MASH, the frequency of CD4⁺CD73⁺ The cells was higher than in healthy subjects (p = 0.0096 and p = 0.0008, respectively). The frequency of CD14⁺CD73⁺ monocytes in patients with HS, on the contrary, was reduced (p = 0.0013). A significant positive correlation was found between the level of NT5E gene mRNA and the level of C-reactive protein (r = 0.566, p = 0.047) in patients with MASH. Thus, it was shown that in MAFLD the frequency of CD73+ immune cells differs from that in healthy individuals, which may be associated with the pathogenesis of the disease and requires further research.