NAFLD staging by an improved ELISA for serum cytokeratin-18 fragments

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major cause of chronic liver disease, ranging from simple steatosis (non-alcoholic fatty liver, NAFL) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cirrhosis. Biomarkers for non-invasively monitoring NAFLD activity and progression are urgently needed. Various studies demonstrated that serological detection of caspase-cleaved cytokeratin (CK)-18 fragments by the M30-ELISA can distinguish between NASH and NAFL patients or healthy individuals, but not between NAFL and healthy persons. There is increasing evidence that NAFL can rapidly progress to NASH. Thus…