Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Year in Review
  • Published:

NAFLD IN 2018

A spotlight on pathogenesis, interactions and novel therapeutic options in NAFLD

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 16, pages 80–82 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

In 2018, there have been substantial advances in our understanding of the risk factors for advanced liver disease in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, including genetic variants and the gut microbiota. Promising results have also arisen from drugs targeting metabolic pathways involved in the progression of liver damage.

Key advances

  • Squalene epoxidase (SQLE) has a key role in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-related hepatocellular carcinoma, and drugs targeting SQLE (such as terbinafine) might be considered for the treatment of this cancer2.

  • A splice variant in HSD17B13 is associated with reduced levels of liver transaminases and reduced risk of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis and NAFLD-related cirrhosis3.

  • Patients with NAFLD have low microbial gene richness and increased microbial genetic potential for the processing of dietary lipids and endotoxin biosynthesis, leading to hepatic inflammation and amino acid biosynthesis dysregulation4.

  • Results of the phase 2 study testing the safety and efficacy of NGM282, a non-tumorigenic analogue of fibroblast growth factor 19, revealed NGM282 was able to reduce liver-fat content, inflammation and fibrosis in patients with biopsy-proven NASH9.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Crosstalk between NAFLD pathogenesis and treatment in 2018.

References

  1. Younossi, Z. et al. Global burden of NAFLD and NASH: trends, predictions, risk factors and prevention. Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 15, 11–20 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Liu, D. et al. Squalene epoxidase drives NAFLD-induced hepatocellular carcinoma and is a pharmaceutical target. Sci. Transl Med. 10, eaap9840 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Abul-Husn, N. S. et al. A protein-truncating HSD17B13 variant and protection from chronic liver disease. N. Engl. J. Med. 378, 1096–1106 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hoyles, L. et al. Molecular phenomics and metagenomics of hepatic steatosis in non-diabetic obese women. Nat. Med. 24, 1070–1080 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. European Association for the Study of the Liver, European Association for the Study of Diabetes & European Association for the Study of Obesity. EASL-EASD-EASO Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. J. Hepatol. 64, 1388–1402 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Dibba, P. et al. Emerging therapeutic targets and experimental drugs for the treatment of NAFLD. Diseases 6, E83 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Arab, J. P. et al. Bile acids and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Molecular insights and therapeutic perspectives. Hepatology 65, 350–362 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Zhou, M. et al. Non-cell-autonomous activation of IL-6/STAT3 signaling mediates FGF19-driven hepatocarcinogenesis. Nat. Commun. 8, 15433 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Harrison, S. A. et al. NGM282 for treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial. Lancet 391, 1174–1185 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

R.Y. and E.B. are supported by grant from the EPoS (Elucidating Pathways of Steatohepatitis) consortium funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Program of the European Union under Grant Agreement 634413.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Ramy Younes & Elisabetta Bugianesi

Authors
  1. Ramy Younes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elisabetta Bugianesi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elisabetta Bugianesi.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Younes, R., Bugianesi, E. A spotlight on pathogenesis, interactions and novel therapeutic options in NAFLD. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 16, 80–82 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-018-0094-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-018-0094-6

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing