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Lipid Metabolism in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Guest Editors:
Fei Luo: The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, China
Bo Shan: Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China
Xiao Wang: Peking University, China

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 15 February 2024


Lipids in Health and Disease is calling for submissions to our new Collection on "Lipid Metabolism in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease". This Collection will highlight several topics including: early detection of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), current therapy for NAFLD, new targets for treating NAFLD, treatment to reduce cardiovascular risks associated with NAFLD, and translational implications and challenges of lipid metabolism in NAFLD.


Image Credit: libre de droit / Getty Images / iStock

About the collection

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the leading chronic liver disease worldwide, with a global prevalence of 20–25%. The early stage of NAFLD is simple hepatic steatosis, which is often benign and reversible but may progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), hepatic fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. The economic toll of this expanding disease prevalence will increase along with the number of individuals who have cirrhosis or end-stage liver disease that requires liver transplantation. In addition, patients diagnosed with NAFLD have a considerably higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other metabolic illnesses.

The major cause of death in those with NAFLD is cardiovascular disease. The development of NAFLD has been linked to obesity, insulin resistance, nutrition, genetic predisposition, the microbiome, and metabolic status; nevertheless, the key mechanisms that cause NAFLD are still a mystery. Genetic studies have revealed at least five genes linked to NAFLD risk, including patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PNPLA3), transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2), glucokinase regulator (GCKR), membrane bound O-acyltransferase domain-containing 7 (MBOAT7) and hydroxysteroid 17β- dehydrogenase (HSD17B13). All these genes were mainly involved in lipid metabolism, indicating the critical role of lipids in the pathology of NAFLD.

Studies have revealed that disorders of cholesterol, triglyceride and phospholipid metabolism contribute to the development of NAFLD. Inhibition of lipid synthesis by inactivation of diacylglycerol acyltransferase enzymes 2 (DGAT2) or monoacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 (MGAT2) is a promising therapeutic opportunity. However, no drugs currently have clear clinical benefits. Therefore, more research on the pathophysiology and treatment of NAFLD is helpful for the discovery and development of new pharmaceuticals. NAFLD patients might benefit from early identification and treatment before the development of effective medications. Liver biopsies are the gold standard for the diagnosis of NAFLD; ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are also widely used to evaluate hepatic lipid contents; however, there is no effective method to screen whether individuals have NAFLD or are at high risk. There is an urgent need for noninvasive methods for early NAFLD diagnosis. We encourage submissions on all aspects of this timely and dynamic issue on this topic, from original research to reviews and discussions.
 

Keywords:

NAFLD, NASH, Lipid metabolism, Noninvasive methods, Cardiovascular disease, Early diagnosis, Therapeutic strategy
 

Topics:

• Early detection of NAFLD
• Current therapy for NAFLD
• New targets for treating NAFLD
• Treatment to reduce cardiovascular risks associated with NAFLD
• Translational implications and challenges of lipid metabolism in NAFLD


Questions to be answered:

• Which type of lipid accumulation is the key driver for the development of NAFLD?
• Are there any new methods for the early detection of NAFLD?
• What is the mechanistic link between NAFLD and cardiovascular disease?
• What are the challenges in NAFLD drug development?
• What are the dynamic changes in the lipid profile in the development of NAFLD?

  1. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent chronic liver disease with a global prevalence, and modulation of ANGPTL8 expression has emerged as a promising predictor of NAFLD susceptibility. This r...

    Authors: Samira Saghafi, Elham Chamani, Fatemeh Salmani, Reza Fadaei, Efat Shafiei, Nariman Moradi and Tahmine Tavakoli
    Citation: Lipids in Health and Disease 2023 22:147
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. The absence of distinct symptoms in the majority of individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) poses challenges in identifying those at high risk, so we need simple, efficien...

    Authors: Haoxuan Zou, Xiaopu Ma, Fan Zhang and Yan Xie
    Citation: Lipids in Health and Disease 2023 22:145
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now the major contributor to chronic liver disease. Disorders of lipid metabolism are a major element in the emergence of NAFLD. This research intended to explore li...

    Authors: Jifeng Liu, Yiming Li, Jingyuan Ma, Xing Wan, Mingjian Zhao, Yunshu Zhang and Dong Shang
    Citation: Lipids in Health and Disease 2023 22:124
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. In light of the high prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and obesity, treatment options for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis are of particular interest. The purpose of the study is to assess the efficac...

    Authors: Natalia Zakharova, Chenguang Luo, Raisa Aringazina and Vadim Samusenkov
    Citation: Lipids in Health and Disease 2023 22:101
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have read our submission guidelines. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Lipid Metabolism in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.