Cyclooxygenase inhibition up-regulates liver carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A expression and improves fatty liver

Beneficial effects of neomangiferin on high fat diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in rats

This study was carried out to determine the effect and mechanism of action of neomangiferin (NG) on high-fat diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in rats. NAFLD rats were randomly assigned into several groups of equal number. NG (50, 25mg/kg·day(-1) BW) and lipanthyl (PT, 5mg/kg·day(-1) BW) were given to the NAFLD rats, respectively. In the study, serum lipids, metabolic rate, liver fat, liver lipids and histology were examined. To further investigate the molecular mechanism of the effect of NG on NAFLD, expression levels of mRNA and protein for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), fatty acid transport protein 2 (FATP2), long-chain-fatty-acid - CoA ligase 1 (ACSL1) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a (CPT1a) in the liver were determined by Real Time-PCR and western blot analysis, respectively. NG administration significantly reduced the final body weight, liver fat accumulation, and serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) concentrations, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), glucose (GLU) levels, and hepatic TG, TC, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, but increased serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels. NG upregulated the mRNA and protein expression of PPARα and CPT1a, but downregulated the mRNA and protein expression of FATP2 and ACSL1 in the liver. These results suggested that NG can regulate NAFLD partly by modulating the expression levels of genes involved in FFA uptake and lipid oxidation.

The genetic epidemiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: toward a personalized medicine

The understanding of the genetic bases of complex diseases such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease opens new opportunities and challenges. This article explores new tools designed toward moving genomic data into clinical medicine, providing putative answers to more practical questions.

The interaction of hepatic lipid and glucose metabolism in liver diseases

It is widely known that the liver is a central organ in lipogenesis, gluconeogenesis and cholesterol metabolism. However, over the last decades, a variety of pathological conditions highlighted the importance of metabolic functions within the diseased liver. As observed in Western societies, an increase in the prevalence of obesity and the metabolic syndrome promotes pathophysiological changes that cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD increases the susceptibility of the liver to acute liver injury and may lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer. Alterations in insulin response, β-oxidation, lipid storage and transport, autophagy and an imbalance in chemokines and nuclear receptor signaling are held accountable for these changes. Furthermore, recent studies revealed a role for lipid accumulation in inflammation and ER stress in the clinical context of liver regeneration and hepatic carcinogenesis. This review focuses on novel findings related to nuclear receptor signaling - including the vitamin D receptor and the liver receptor homolog 1 - in hepatic lipid and glucose uptake, storage and metabolism in the clinical context of NAFLD, liver regeneration, and cancer.