Environmental Disease (Jan 2016)

A review of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease - genetics and animal models

  • Ze Zheng,
  • Xiaobo Wang,
  • Bishuang Cai

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/2468-5690.185292
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 1, no. 2
pp. 51 – 57

Abstract

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Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a spectrum of liver diseases ranging from simple NAFL to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, to irreversible cirrhosis. NAFLD is the most common chronic liver disease in developed countries and is considered as the hepatic manifestation of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. In the pathogenesis of NAFLD, hepatic lipid accumulation results from an imbalance between lipid synthesis, storage, oxidation, and/or secretion, and eventually triggers hepatic inflammation and injury. The increasing incidence of NAFLD etiological studies has shown that obesity, hepatitis C, and cryptogenic cirrhosis are associated with NAFLD. Here, we provide a comprehensive NAFLD review that covers the population genetics, genome-wide associated study, epidemiology, pathophysiology of the disease progression, and current existing animal models.

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