Expression of ITGBL1 in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis and its correlation with patient prognosis

Abstract

Abstract: Objective To investigate the dynamic expression of ITGBL1 in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)-related hepatic fibrosis and elucidate its correlation with fibrosis staging and clinical prognosis. Methods Transcriptomic data from MASH patient liver tissues were retrieved from the GEO database. Dimensionality reduction analysis was performed to visualize sample distribution patterns. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) across fibrosis stages were identified, and common intersecting genes were screened using Venn diagrams. Correlation analysis was used to evaluate the association between ITGBL1 expression and fibrosis severity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to assess diagnostic efficacy. Immune cell infiltration profiles were analyzed, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to determine the subcellular localization of ITGBL1 mRNA. Results Venn analysis identified ITGBL1 as a core intersection gene across all DEG groups. ITGBL1 expression exhibited a fibrosis stage-dependent escalation, with optimal diagnostic performance at F4 stage (AUC=0.958, 95% CI: 3.118~34.769; sensitivity=88.9%, specificity=95.7%). ITGBL1 expression was positively correlated with M1 macrophage infiltration (R=0.468, P<0.0001) but negatively correlated with M2 polarization (R=-0.188, P=0.032). FISH confirmed nuclear-specific enrichment of ITGBL1 mRNA in F2-stage hepatocytes (3.8-fold fluorescence intensity increase vs. controls, P=0.0021). Conclusion ITGBL1 serves as a novel molecular biomarker for MASH-related hepatic fibrosis progression, shows high diagnostic accuracy for advanced fibrosis stages.

Key words: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, ITGBL1, Liver fibrosis, Prognosis, Macrophage polarization

DAI Wen, CHEN Hui, LI Zi-qiang, JI Yi-fei, LU Cui-hua, HUANG Wei. Expression of ITGBL1 in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis and its correlation with patient prognosis[J]. Chinese Hepatolgy, 2026, 31(2): 257-263.

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