Title:Critical Role of NFκB in the Pathogenesis of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Widespread Key Regulator
VOLUME: 20
Author(s):Lorenzo Franceschetti, Francesca Bonomini*, Luigi Fabrizio Rodella and Rita Rezzani
Affiliation:Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia
Keywords: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Nuclear factor kappa b, Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, Hepatic steatosis, inflammation, oxidative stress.
Abstract: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a chronic metabolic disorder representing the most common cause of chronic
liver disease in western civilization and one of the main causes of cirrhosis with a significant impact on all-cause mortality
in the most advanced phases. It is characterized by hepatic fat accumulation in the absence of significant ethanol consumption, virus infection or other specific causes of liver disease. Accumulation of fat in liver tissue occurs as a consequence of
the imbalance between overconsumption of high-fat diet and increased de novo lipogenesis and decreased lipid disposal.
Novel dietary and pharmacological therapies for the prevention of fatty liver disease and the progression to cirrhosis are an
actual field of study but still poorly understood. In this perspective, the current review aims to summarise and clarify the
transcription factor NFκB effects, which may exert among non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases and their progression. Through
extensive previous research, it has become clear that several signaling pathways are involved: metabolic dysregulation (such
as free fatty acids increase, adipokine alteration, insulin resistance), oxidative stress and inflammation contribute together in
a “vicious circle” to the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases. Within this, NFκB signaling is a primary factor in
inflammatory reactions and diseases, with important molecular connections between metabolic, oxidative, immune and inflammation systems.
