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Background/objectives: Obesity and metabolic conditions increase the risk of metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). This study examined the risk of MASLD in 137 renal transplant recipients (RTRs) from a single-center hospital on the basis of their obesity and metabolic health status., Methods: Participants were categorized into four groups: metabolically healthy nonobese (MHNO), metabolically healthy obese (MHO), metabolically abnormal nonobese (MANO), and metabolically abnormal obese (MAO). MASLD was assessed using the hepatic steatosis index (HSI), calculated as 8 × (aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase ratio) + body mass index + 2 (if diabetic) + 2 (if woman). The HSI scores were 29.50 ± 4.55, 38.08 ± 5.44, 33.61 ± 5.23, and 39.86 ± 4.13 in the MHNO, MHO, MANO, and MAO groups, respectively ( p < 0.05)., Results: Overall, 25.55% of the participants (57.14% men) were classified as having MASLD (HSI > 36). A multivariate-adjusted regression analysis revealed significantly higher HSI scores in the MAO group than in the MHNO group. Both MHO and MANO groups also had significantly higher HSI scores. The odds ratios for more severe MASLD were 2.74 (95% CI: 0.88-8.52) for the MANO group and 74.59 (95% CI: 13.29-418.68) for the MAO group compared with the MHNO group., Conclusions: These findings suggest that RTRs with obesity have a higher risk of MASLD, but even those with a normal weight and metabolic abnormalities are at increased risk.

Parapyruvate is a substance commonly found in commercial dietary supplements of calcium pyruvate (DSCP) that inhibits the α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDHC) and has been shown to induce senescence in human Hs68 cells. However, it is unknown whether parapyruvate can induce neurodegeneration. In this study, the parapyruvate content in DSCP was converted to an equivalent dose for mice and administered to the C57BL/6JNarl mice at doses around the equivalent dose for 69 days, including 5, 50, and 500 mg/kg/day. The Morris water maze (MWM) task and the active avoidance test were conducted to assess the learning and memory ability in mice, and then brain tissues were collected for biochemical analyses. The results demonstrated that parapyruvate significantly impaired the learning and memory ability, decreased the KGDHC activity, and promoted the oxidative stress and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in mice in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, parapyruvate induced Tau and phosphorylated Tau (p-Tau) aggregation at dosages ≥5 mg/kg/day and increased the myelin basic protein (MBP) expression at a dosage of 500 mg/kg/day. These results suggest that the equivalent dose of parapyruvate can induce neurodegeneration in the C57BL/6JNarl mice., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)