{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T16:17:27Z","timestamp":1778602647015,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777507200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation","award":["VN21GR01 CUP J95F21000520001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["VN21GR01 CUP J95F21000520001"]}]},{"name":"Lega Italiana per la Lotta Contro I Tumori","award":["CUP G75E24000220005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CUP G75E24000220005"]}]},{"name":"Beneficentia Stiftung, Vaduz Liechtenstein","award":["BEN 2024\/5"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BEN 2024\/5"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and aims. Liver mechanical properties\u2019 (stiffness\/viscoelasticity) evaluation is relevant for diagnosing\/monitoring liver fibrosis. Due to limitations of the commonly used elastography, we propose the use of rheology and Low Field-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LF-NMR). Methods. In 30 liver samples from patients undergoing bariatric surgery and 18 control samples, we evaluated the shear modulus G\/critical stress \u03c4c (elastic properties) and mean complex modulus Ga* (elastic\/viscous properties) by rheology. LF-NMR was used to measure the spin\u2013spin relaxation time (T2m), reflecting iron content. The expression of iron-related proteins and of pro-fibrotic proteins were evaluated by qRT-PCR. Tissue histology was also determined. Results. Ga*\/G\/\u03c4c were higher in pathological samples, which also showed increased expression of pro-fibrotic proteins. Fibrosis determination displayed a correspondence of 4\/30 samples for elastography\/histology and 17\/30 for rheology\/histology. T2m was significantly lower in pathological livers, indicating iron accumulation as confirmed by increased expression of iron-related proteins. T2m was more effective than histology in detecting iron. An inverse correlation was observed between T2m and Ga*\/G showing that iron accumulation is associated with increased liver elasticity\/viscoelasticity, i.e., fibrosis. Additionally, an inverse correlation of Ga*\/G with transferrin, was observed. Conclusion. As our patients mostly have mild liver fibrosis, the combined use of rheology\/LF-NMR can effectively detect early changes in liver mechanical properties, aiding in staging and diagnosis of fibrosis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27094040","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T14:35:53Z","timestamp":1777559753000},"page":"4040","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Pilot Study on the Use of Rheology and Low Field Nmr to Characterize the Liver of Obese Patients Undergoing Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2841-1277","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alice","family":"Biasin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, Cattinara University Hospital, Trieste University, Strada di Fiume 447, I-34149 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4749-4258","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvia","family":"Palmisano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, Cattinara University Hospital, Trieste University, Strada di Fiume 447, I-34149 Trieste, Italy"},{"name":"Surgical Division, Cattinara Hospital, I-34149 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9785-3741","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michela","family":"Abrami","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Engineering and Architecture, Trieste University, Via Valerio 6, I-34127 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Deborah","family":"Bonazza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Surgical Pathology, Cattinara Hospital, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Giuliana Isontina (ASUGI), I-34149 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fabrizio","family":"Zanconati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, Cattinara University Hospital, Trieste University, Strada di Fiume 447, I-34149 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Domenico","family":"Tierno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, Cattinara University Hospital, Trieste University, Strada di Fiume 447, I-34149 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Federica","family":"Tonon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, Cattinara University Hospital, Trieste University, Strada di Fiume 447, I-34149 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nhung Hai","family":"Truong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Regenerative Biomedicine, University of Science-VNUHCM, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"},{"name":"Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Viet Nam National University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6262-5557","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thanh Dang","family":"Minh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Regenerative Biomedicine, University of Science-VNUHCM, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"},{"name":"Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Viet Nam National University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3888-0931","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ralf","family":"Weiskirchen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Molecular Pathobiochemistry, Experimental Gene Therapy and Clinical Chemistry (IFMPEGKC), RWTH University Hospital Aachen, D-52074 Aachen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8271-408X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fulvia","family":"Felluga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8662-138X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bruna","family":"Scaggiante","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3532-3200","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mario","family":"Grassi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Engineering and Architecture, Trieste University, Via Valerio 6, I-34127 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9704-6651","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriele","family":"Grassi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, Cattinara University Hospital, Trieste University, Strada di Fiume 447, I-34149 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liedtke, C., Nevzorova, Y.A., Luedde, T., Zimmermann, H., Kroy, D., Strnad, P., Berres, M.-L., Bernhagen, J., Tacke, F., and Nattermann, J. 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