ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine serum tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP) -1 and -2 levels in children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and to investigate possible roles of the two markers.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and five obese children were classified into 4 groups: simple obesity (n=44), simple nonalcoholic fatty liver (SNAFL, n=25), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH, n=36). Serum TIMP-1 and -2 levels were measured using ELISA. Serum ALT and gamma-GT levels were measured with totally automatic enzymatic method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Serum levels of TIMP-1 and gamma-GT increased with the disease development from simple obesity to SNAFL and NASH (P<0.05). Both serum TIMP-1 and -2 levels were positively correlated with gamma-GT levels (r=0.534, P<0.01; r=0.351, P<0.05, respectively). Ninety-seven percent of children in the NASH group had serum TIMP-1 levels over 2 standard deviations of healthy controls (83.35 microg/ L) compared with 76% in the SNAFL group (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the case proportion with TIMP-2 levels over 2 standard deviations of healthy controls between the NASH and the SNAFL groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Both TIMP-1 and -2 may reflect the state of liver fibrosis in children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and serum TIMP-1 appears to be more reliable.</p>