Bulk Liver in MAFLD/MASH

Background & Aims: Metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MAFLD) progresses to steatohepatitis (MASH) and is a major cause of liver cirrhosis. In the early disease stage, liver inflammation is absent. However, the early involvement of the peripheral immune cell compartments in disease progression is poorly understood and single cell profiles of peripheral immune cells in MAFLD/MASH are not known. Methods: MAFLD/MASH patients and healthy volunteers have been prospectively enrolled into a cross-sectional study. Patients have been histologically stratified and characterized by liver bulk RNA-Seq. Overall design: Bulk RNA-seq samples were collected from liver needle biopsies from MAFLD/MASH patients and histologically stratified by disease stage (NAS score)