Methods and kits for determining the occurrence of a liver disease in a subject

A. Materials and Methods

A.1. Patients

[0170]Our series included 80 consecutive candidates for bariatric surgery who were prospectively included. Patients were selected on the basis of high BMI (>32 kg / m2), absence of significant alcohol consumption (<200 g per week for men and 100 g for women) and negative autoimmune and viral hepatitis work-ups. Written informed consent was obtained for all patients. A blood sample, collected before bariatric surgery, was performed to determine serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase, glucose, total cholesterol and triglyceride. A serum aliquot was also immediately frozen for proteomic analysis and stored at −80° C. until use.

[0171]Bariatric surgery consisted of either gastric bypass or gastroplasty. Wedge liver biopsy was systematically performed during surgery. Thirty-three of 80 patients were reviewed 6 months after surgery. They were weighed and a blood sa

Identification of the Polypeptide Biomarkers of the Invention

Clinical and Biological Data

[0184]The group of obese patients comprised 60 women and 20 men with a mean age of 37 years (19-67 years). The mean BMI upon admission was 42 kg / m2 (37-47). The mean BMI measured 6 months after bariatric surgery was 30 kg / m2 (26-34). The mean BMI of the control group was 24 kg / m2 (21.5-26.5). Detailed biological data are presented in table 1.

TABLE 1Patients clinical and biological dataObese patientsObese patientsbefore bariatricafter bariatricNon-obesesurgerysurgerycontrols(n = 80)(n = 33)(n = 24)Age35 ± 1230 ± 10Female / male60 / 2025 / 811 / 19ratioBMI (kg / m2) 42 ± 5.530 ± 4  24 ± 2.5Diabetes210Fasting glucose6.4 ± 3  5.2 ± 0.7NA(mmol / l)Cholesterol5.5 ± 1  5.0 ± 1.3NA(mmol / l)Triglycerides1.9 ± 0.91.3 ± 0.6NA(mmol / l)ASAT (IU / l)33.7 ± 18.320.6 ± 5.6 NAALAT (IU / l)44.7 ± 33.226.8 ± 11.2NAAlkaline72.2 ± 13.868.7 ± 15.9NAphosphatase(IU / l)NA: not available

Liver Biopsy Analysis

[0185]E