{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T06:36:31Z","timestamp":1784874991460,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,10]],"date-time":"2025-02-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1739145600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"ODIN\u2014Open Discovery Network Aarhus University","award":["NNF20SA0061466"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NNF20SA0061466"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100009708","name":"Novo Nordisk Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NNF20SA0061466"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NNF20SA0061466"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100009708","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus (SDCA)","award":["NNF20SA0061466"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NNF20SA0061466"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biomolecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) affects one-third of adults globally. Despite efforts to develop non-invasive diagnostic tools, liver biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and assessing fibrosis. This study investigated RNA aptamer panels, selected using APTASHAPE technology, for non-invasive MASLD diagnosis and fibrosis stratification. Aptamer panels were selected in a cohort of individuals with MASLD (development cohort, n = 77) and tested in separate cohorts: one with MASLD (test cohort, n = 57) and one assessed for bariatric surgery (bariatric cohort, n = 62). A panel distinguishing MASLD without steatohepatitis from MASH accurately stratified individuals in the developmentcohort (AUC = 0.83) but failed in the test and bariatric cohorts. It did, however, distinguish healthy controls from individuals with MASLD, achieving an AUC of 0.72 in the test cohort. A panel for fibrosis stratification differentiated F0 from F3\u20134 fibrosis in the development cohort (AUC = 0.68) but not in other cohorts. Mass spectrometry identified five plasma proteins as potential targets of the discriminative aptamers, with complement factor H suggested as a novel MASLD biomarker. In conclusion, APTASHAPE shows promise as a non-invasive tool for diagnosing and staging MASLD and identifying associated plasma biomarkers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biom15020255","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,10]],"date-time":"2025-02-10T06:43:07Z","timestamp":1739169787000},"page":"255","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Diagnosis and Staging of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease Using Biomarker-Directed Aptamer Panels"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6385-5108","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mikkel B.","family":"Kj\u00e6r","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark"},{"name":"Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark"},{"name":"Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 11, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5347-0685","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Asger G.","family":"J\u00f8rgensen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"S\u00f8ren","family":"Fjelstrup","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1378-1670","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel M.","family":"Dupont","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7706-1456","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claus","family":"Bus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1115-8308","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peter L.","family":"Eriksen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8118-4643","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karen L.","family":"Thomsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4195-6231","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeyanthini","family":"Risikesan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 11, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8624-5556","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"S\u00f8ren","family":"Nielsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 11, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8964-0650","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Charlotte W.","family":"Wernberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital of Southern Denmark, 6700 Esbjerg, Denmark"},{"name":"ATLAS Centre for Functional Genomics, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0586-8549","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mette M.","family":"Lauridsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital of Southern Denmark, 6700 Esbjerg, Denmark"},{"name":"ATLAS Centre for Functional Genomics, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0502-4381","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elisabetta","family":"Bugianesi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Via Verdi 8, 10124 Torino, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6518-7089","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chiara","family":"Rosso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Via Verdi 8, 10124 Torino, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8998-7910","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Henning","family":"Gr\u00f8nb\u00e6k","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, 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