The Interplay between Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and the Epigenome towards Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), described as the most prominent cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, has emerged as a significant public health issue, posing a considerable challenge for most countries. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), commonly found in daily use items and foods, are able to interfere with nuclear receptors (NRs) and disturb hormonal signaling and mitochondrial function, leading, among other metabolic disorders, to MASLD. EDCs have also been proposed to cause transgenerationally inherited alterations leading to increased disease susceptibility. In this review, we are focusing on the most prominent linking pathways between EDCs and MASLD, their role in the induction of epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of the disease as well as up-to-date practices aimed at reducing their impact.

Keywords

• metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)
• endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)
• diet
• epigenetic changes
• DNA methylation
• histone alterations