Glutaminolysis-ammonia-urea Cycle Axis, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Progression and Development of Novel Therapies

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing worldwide, reflecting the current epidemics of obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome. NAFLD is characterized by the accu mulation of fat in the liver, and is known to be a cause of cir r...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rojas, Ángela, Garcia-Lozano, Maria Rosario, Gil Gómez, Antonio, Romero Gómez, Manuel, Ampuero Herrojo, Javier
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/139558
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/139558
https://doi.org/10.14218/JCTH.2021.00247
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
Cirrhosis
Fibrosis
Glutaminolysis
Ammonia
Urea
Descripción
Sumario:The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing worldwide, reflecting the current epidemics of obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome. NAFLD is characterized by the accu mulation of fat in the liver, and is known to be a cause of cir rhosis. Although many pathways have been proposed, the cause of NAFLD-linked fibrosis progression is still unclear, which posed challenges for the development of new thera pies to prevent NASH-related cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Cirrhosis is associated with activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) and accumulation of excess extracellular matrix proteins, and inhibiting the activation of HSCs would be expected to slow the progression of NAFLD-cirrhosis. Multiple molecular signals and pathways such as oxidative stress and glutaminolysis have been reported to promote HSC activation. Both mechanisms are plausible antifibrotic targets in NASH, as the activation of HSCs the proliferation of myofibroblasts depend on those processes. This review summarizes the role of the glutaminolysis-ammonia-urea cycle axis in the context of NAFLD progression, and shows how the axis could be a novel therapeutic target.