Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2026 Jan 13;10(1):103354. doi: 10.1016/j.rpth.2026.103354. eCollection 2026 Jan.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Obesity predisposes individuals to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. Studies in mice suggest that fibrin deposition in adipose tissue and liver promotes obesity and MASLD, but whether similar mechanisms are linked to metabolic disease in humans is incompletely studied.
OBJECTIVES: This study determined the relationship between plasma fibrin clot characteristics and hepatic fibrin deposition with obesity and MASLD severity and examined changes in fibrin measures 2 years after bariatric surgery.
METHODS: We included 195 individuals with body mass index (BMI) of > 35 kg/m2 in a cohort study. A subgroup of 93 individuals who underwent bariatric surgery (n = 35) or served as nonsurgical controls (n = 58) was followed for 2 years. Clot characteristics were studied by turbidity. Hepatic tissue samples were scored for MASLD, and in 3 individuals with varying BMI, tissues were stained for fibrin.
RESULTS: Examination of plasma clots revealed that individuals with BMI > 45 kg/m2 had lower clot lysis and fiber density, while maximal turbidity increment (V max), fiber diameter, and maximum absorbance (MA) were higher than those in individuals with BMI < 40 kg/m2. V max, fiber density, and MA were lower in individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis than those in patients without MASLD. After bariatric surgery, clot lysis and fiber density were higher than that in controls, whereas V max, fiber diameter, and MA were lower. Staining intensity of hepatic fibrin deposits increased with obesity severity but was not clearly reduced postsurgery.
CONCLUSION: Severe obesity and MASLD are associated with altered fibrin characteristics in plasma clots and liver tissue, suggesting fibrin(ogen) reflects metabolic alterations although the directionality remains to be clarified.
PMID:41685275 | PMC:PMC12892059 | DOI:10.1016/j.rpth.2026.103354