Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Laura Taban, Dana Stoian, Bogdan Timar, Daniela Amzar, Calin Adela, Alexandru Motofelea, Andreea Borlea, Romain Frisoni, Nadege Laguerre
Summary: This study investigates the presence of steatohepatitis in obese patients and compares the differences between diabetic and non-diabetic patients. It finds a significant correlation between vitamin D deficiency and hepatic steatosis in individuals with morbid obesity. Correcting vitamin D deficiency may have beneficial effects on treating hepatic steatosis, diabetes, and cardiovascular risk in patients with morbid obesity.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yueh-Lin Wu, Hsiao-Fen Li, Hsi-Hsien Chen, Heng Lin
Summary: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a group of stable genome transcripts that play important roles in regulating transcription and translation processes, and their dysregulation can lead to metabolic disorders. They also have the potential to serve as disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Tingjun Xu, Wenxing Gao, Lixin Zhu, Wanning Chen, Chaoqun Niu, Wenjing Yin, Liangxiao Ma, Xinyue Zhu, Yunchao Ling, Sheng Gao, Lei Liu, Na Jiao, Weiming Chen, Guoqing Zhang, Ruixin Zhu, Dingfeng Wu
Summary: NAFLDkb is a specialized knowledge base and platform for computer-aided drug design against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It provides associations of drug-related entities as individual knowledge graphs, using curated information from diverse source materials and public databases. Practical drug discovery tools, including chemical structure search, drug-likeness screening, knowledge-based repositioning, and research article annotation, are implemented in the web interface. Case studies demonstrate the clinical reliability and potential of NAFLDkb in identifying novel drug-disease associations and accelerating NAFLD drug development. NAFLDkb is freely accessible at https://www.biosino.org/nafldkb and regularly updated with the latest findings.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL INFORMATION AND MODELING
(2023)
Review
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Vincent Wai-Sun Wong, Mattias Ekstedt, Grace Lai-Hung Wong, Hannes Hagstrom
Summary: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease globally, affecting approximately 38% of the global population. Although only a minority of patients progress to severe complications, the number of patients at risk for such outcomes is increasing. Factors such as changes in dietary composition, urbanization, obesity, and type 2 diabetes contribute to the increasing prevalence of NAFLD. However, there are significant geographical variations in NAFLD and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) prevalence rates, which can be attributed to socioeconomic and genetic factors.
JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Ekaterina Smirnova, Mark D. Muthiah, Nicole Narayan, Mohamad S. Siddiqui, Puneet Puri, Velimir A. Luketic, Melissa J. Contos, Michael Idowu, Jen-Chieh Chuang, Andrew N. Billin, Ryan S. Huss, Robert P. Myers, Sherry Boyett, Mulugeta Seneshaw, Hae-Ki Min, Faridodin Mirshahi, Arun J. Sanyal
Summary: This study demonstrates the significance of bile acids and the bile acid dependent microbiome in the development and progression of NAFLD, and suggests their potential use as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for NASH.
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Daljeet Chahal, Divya Sharma, Sareh Keshavarzi, Fakhar Ali Qazi Arisar, Keyur Patel, Wei Xu, Mamatha Bhat
Summary: This study compared lean NAFLD and overweight or obese NAFLD and found that they have distinct features. A risk score was developed, incorporating both clinical and genetic factors, which accurately classifies lean NAFLD patients and could serve as a screening tool.
HEPATOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Surendra Pal Chaudhary, Stephanie Reyes, Matthew L. Chase, Aparna Govindan, Lei Zhao, Jay Luther, Irun Bhan, Emily Bethea, Joseph W. Franses, Elizabeth Paige Walsh, Leigh Anne Dageford, Shoko Kimura, Nahel Elias, Heidi Yeh, James Markman, Adel Bozorgzadeh, Kenneth Tanabe, Cristina Ferrone, Andrew X. Zhu, Karin Andersson, Michael Thiim, Onofrio Antonio Catalano, Avinash Kambadakone, Parsia A. Vagefi, Motaz Qadan, Daniel Pratt, Nikroo Hashemi, Kathleen E. Corey, Joseph Misdraji, Lipika Goyal, Jeffrey W. Clark
Summary: This article evaluates differences in clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing surgical resection for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-associated and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-associated hepatocellular carcinoma compared with other etiologies. The results showed that patients with NAFLD/NASH-related HCC more commonly lacked liver fibrosis and presented with larger HCCs compared with patients with HCC from other etiologies. No differences were seen in rates of other high-risk features or survival, supporting a similar decision-making approach regarding surgical resection for NAFLD/NASH and other etiology-related HCCs.
Review
Immunology
Amandine Ferriere, Pauline Santa, Anne Garreau, Purbita Bandopadhyay, Patrick Blanco, Dipyaman Ganguly, Vanja Sisirak
Summary: Obesity and overweight are global health problems affecting nearly one third of the world population. Obesity is associated with metabolic syndrome, type II diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Recent research has shown that nucleic acids, primarily DNA, accumulated in obese individuals can activate innate immune responses and contribute to metabolic tissue inflammation. Understanding the role of nucleic acids in obesity-induced inflammation may lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches to mitigate obesity-related complications.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sangam Rajak, Pratima Gupta, Baby Anjum, Sana Raza, Archana Tewari, Sujoy Ghosh, Madhulika Tripathi, Brijesh K. Singh, Rohit A. Sinha
Summary: NASH is an important stage of NAFLD in humans, and there are currently no approved drugs for its treatment. The upregulation of AKR1B10 gene in NASH patients has been identified, and the inhibition of AKR1B10 has shown promising effects in reducing the pathological features of NASH.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-MOLECULAR BASIS OF DISEASE
(2022)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Sven H. Loosen, Munevver Demir, Karel Kostev, Tom Luedde, Christoph Roderburg
Summary: This study in Germany shows a significant association between NAFLD and hypothyroidism as well as autoimmune thyroiditis, with NAFLD patients having a higher risk of developing these thyroid diseases compared to non-NAFLD patients.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY & HEPATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Yufeng Li, Junyu Xu, Yuting Lu, Hua Bian, Lin Yang, Honghong Wu, Xinwen Zhang, Beilei Zhang, Maoqian Xiong, Yafei Chang, Jie Tang, Fan Yang, Lei Zhao, Jing Li, Xin Gao, Mingfeng Xia, Minjia Tan, Jingya Li
Summary: This study demonstrates the critical role of DRAK2 in the pathogenesis of NAFLD/NASH and suggests it as a potential therapeutic target for this disease by regulating RNA splicing and alternative splicing of mitochondrial function-related genes.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Naim Alkhouri, Samer Gawrieh
Summary: Therapeutic oligonucleotides have shown promise in silencing undruggable targets, particularly in treating metabolic liver diseases. The liver offers numerous susceptible molecular targets for modulation via therapeutic oligonucleotides, which align well with the progress in precision medicine.
EXPERT OPINION ON INVESTIGATIONAL DRUGS
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hyunmi Kim, Da Som Lee, Tae Hyeon An, Hyun-Ju Park, Won Kon Kim, Kwang-Hee Bae, Kyoung-Jin Oh
Summary: Liver disease encompasses a spectrum of liver damage from simple steatosis to hepatocellular carcinoma, with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes often coexisting. Despite the lack of suitable drugs for NAFLD and NASH, thiazolidinediones drugs are sometimes used to improve liver failure.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carlos Jimenez-Cortegana, Alba Garcia-Galey, Malika Tami, Pilar del Pino, Isabel Carmona, Soledad Lopez, Gonzalo Alba, Victor Sanchez-Margalet
Summary: NAFLD affects a quarter of the global population and poses a significant health and economic burden across all countries. The lack of approved pharmacotherapy and well-established diagnostic strategies for this disease highlights the urgency for further research and management efforts. Studies have shown a strong relationship between the hormone leptin and the development of NAFLD, suggesting potential advancements in disease management through further investigation of its role.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Sven H. Loosen, Karel Kostev, Tom Luedde, Christoph Roderburg
Summary: Infectious mononucleosis is significantly associated with the incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and this association is most pronounced in older age groups.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION
(2023)
