A new article published in Hepatology reported that the etiology of NAFLD involves multiple interactions between environmental and genetic factors. Here, the authors reviewed the major pathways and dominant genetic modifiers in human NAFLD that may determine key components of the heritability of distinctive disease traits including steatosis and fibrosis.

This article elaborated that the major candidate gene variants, function in distinct pathways including substrate delivery for de-novo lipogenesis; mitochondrial energy utilization; lipid droplet assembly, lipolytic catabolism and fatty acid compartmentalization; and VLDL assembly and secretion.

It was stated that NAFLD-reactome model expands these pathways and allows for hypothesis testing as well as serving as a discovery platform for druggable targets across multiple pathways that promote NAFLD development and influence several progressive outcomes. This article highlighted opportunities for future clinical research and pharmacologic intervention, as well as the implications for clinical practice.

Source: Sookoian S, Pirola C, Valenti L, Davidson N. Genetic pathways in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Insights from systems biology. Hepatology. 2020. doi:10.1002/hep.31229