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Metabolic Syndrome: New Insights in Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management—2nd Edition

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Endocrinology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 1448

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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metabolic syndrome (syndrome X, insulin resistance syndrome) is a multifactorial disease, with higher morbidity and mortality risk and increased frequency in younger people. It includes a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases caused by adipose tissue dysfunction and insulin resistance. Risk factors most closely tied to metabolic syndrome include age, ethnicity, a body mass index greater than 25, a personal or family history of diabetes, smoking, stress, post-menopausal status, high-fat diet, a sedentary lifestyle, and hormonal imbalance. Genetic factors could influence each individual component of the syndrome and the syndrome itself. The genetic components of hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia, oxidative stress, inflammation, cytokine hypersecretion, and epigenetic modifications should also be considered in metabolic syndrome risk factors.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the American Heart Association (AHA), metabolic syndrome is diagnosed when a patient has at least three of the following five conditions: abdominal obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and a lower HDL-cholesterol level.

Metabolic syndrome greatly raises the risk of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, fatty liver, polycystic ovarian syndrome, cholesterol gallstones, asthma, sleep problems, and several types of cancer.

This Special Issue will include original research, case reports, and review papers investigating the biochemical, genetic, and epigenetic biomarkers related to the risk of developing metabolic syndrome in order to elucidate the pathogenic mechanism. Furthermore, it will consider in silico, experimental in vitro, and in vivo studies with higher potential to improve the management (prevention, diagnosis, and treatment) of metabolic syndrome.

Prof. Dr. Lucia Maria Procopciuc
Prof. Dr. Roxana Liana Lucaciu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • insulin resistance
  • hypertension
  • diabetes mellitus
  • obesity
  • inflammation
  • stress
  • metabolic disorders
  • reproductive endocrine disorders
  • polycystic ovarian syndrome
  • waist circumference
  • estrogen deficiency
  • disturbances in adipose tissue
  • physical inactivity
  • overnutrition
  • cardiovascular diseases
  • abdominal obesity
  • genetics and epigenetics of metabolic syndrome
  • computational analysis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 4513 KB  
Article
Low-Abundance Proteomics Reveal Pleiotrophin and Fibroblast Growth Factor-21 as Biomarkers of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis
by Melissa M. Milito, Milos Mihajlovic, Alice Mallia, Stefania Ghilardi, Claudio Tiribelli, Deborah Bonazza, Natalia Rosso, Silvia Palmisano, Cristina Banfi and Pablo J. Giraudi
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(22), 10943; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms262210943 - 12 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1176
Abstract
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is closely linked to comorbidities like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Given that liver biopsy is the diagnostic gold standard, there is a critical need for minimally invasive tests, particularly for the inflammatory form, metabolic [...] Read more.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is closely linked to comorbidities like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Given that liver biopsy is the diagnostic gold standard, there is a critical need for minimally invasive tests, particularly for the inflammatory form, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). In this discovery study, we investigated the plasma proteome to identify blood biomarkers for MASH and explored their potential tissue sources, the liver and visceral adipose tissue. Plasma low-abundance proteome profiling was performed on samples from a cohort of morbidly obese MASLD subjects (n = 90; 40 with MASH, 50 without) using Olink® panels. Paired liver and visceral adipose biopsies were also analyzed. Data showed 34 significantly different plasma proteins between the two groups, including Pleiotrophin (PTN), Fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21), and Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), among others. While plasma-tissue correlation was only found for STX8, PTN and FGF-21 demonstrated the strongest associations with the histopathological features of MASH. A diagnostic model combining PTN, FGF-21, and AST achieved a robust AUC of 0.88 (95% CI: 0.84–0.97) for distinguishing MASH. Based on this discovery pilot study, circulating PTN and FGF-21 emerge as promising non-invasive biomarkers for improving patient stratification and supporting therapeutic evaluation in MASH, warranting validation in independent cohorts and future studies. Full article
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