Hypoxia and non alcoholic fatty liver disease

Christopher D Byrne (1)

1 Endocrinology and Metabolism

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a spectrum of fatty liver diseases associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The spectrum of fatty liver diseases, comprises simple steatosis, steatosis with inflammation (i.e. non alcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH), fatty liver disease with inflammation and fibrosis (severe NASH) and cirrhosis. The molecular mechanisms contributing to NASH are the subject of considerable investigation, as a better understanding of the pathogenesis of NASH will lead to novel therapies for a condition that hitherto remains difficult to treat. In this edition of the Journal Piquet et al have investigated the effects of hypoxia in the PTEN deficient mouse, a mouse model that develops NAFLD. Piquet et al show that a short period (7 days) of exposure to hypoxia aggravates the NAFLD phenotype, causing changes in the liver that are in keeping with NASH, with increased lipogenesis and inflammation.

Mots clés: Medicine

Christopher D Byrne. Hypoxia and non alcoholic fatty liver disease. Clinical Science, 2009, 118 (6), pp.397-400. ⟨10.1042/CS20090565⟩. ⟨hal-00546867⟩