Hepatic Gene Expression Profiles Differentiate Steatotic and Non-steatotic Grafts in Liver Transplant Recipients

Conclusions: While there is a certain overlap between the results of the current study and published transcriptomic profiles of non-transplanted livers with steatosis, we have identified discrete characteristics of the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in liver grafts potentially utilizable for the establishment of predictive signature. Introduction Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in industrialized countries, its prevalence being estimated at 19–31.3% (1). It encompasses a range of conditions that are thought to arise from fatty liver (simple steatosis) through non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which refers to findings on liver biopsy reflecting typical metabolic and inflammatory changes (fat-related inflammation) with or without fibrosis in the absence of significant alcohol consumption (2, 3). NASH may develop into liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although NAFLD itself may be rather benign in the majority of patients, it is associated with increased specific (liver-related) mortality (4) and represents a substantial risk particularly for both fatal and non-fatal adverse cardiovascular events (5, 6) and chronic kidney disease (7). The pathogenesis of NAFLD is multifactorial and multiple genetic and behavioral factors were identified to contribute to hepatic mishandling of fatty acids and carbohydrates as energy sources, as recently reviewed in detail. The overload of fatty acids in hepatocyt...
Source: Frontiers in Endocrinology - Category: Endocrinology Source Type: research