Division of Cardiology, Foundation for Medical Researches, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University Hospital, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
World J Gastroenterol. 2012 Feb 28;18(8):727-35. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i8.727.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes a variety of histological conditions (ranging from liver steatosis and steatohepatitis, to fibrosis and hepatocarcinoma) that are characterized by an increased fat content within the liver. The accumulation/deposition of fat within the liver is essential for diagnosis of NAFLD and might be associated with alterations in the hepatic and systemic inflammatory state. Although it is still unclear if each histological entity represents a different disease or rather steps of the same disease, inflammatory processes in NAFLD might influence its pathophysiology and prognosis. In particular, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (the most inflamed condition in NAFLDs, which more frequently evolves towards chronic and serious liver diseases) is characterized by a marked activation of inflammatory cells and the upregulation of several soluble inflammatory mediators. Among several mediators, cytokines and chemokines might play a pivotal active role in NAFLD and are considered as potential therapeutic targets. In this review, we will update evidence from both basic research and clinical studies on the potential role of cytokines and chemokines in the pathophysiology of NAFLD.
非酒精性脂肪性肝病 (NAFLD) 包括多种组织学病变（从肝脂肪变性和脂肪性肝炎，到纤维化和肝癌），其特征是肝脏内脂肪含量增加。肝内脂肪的蓄积/沉积是诊断 NAFLD 的必要条件，并且可能与肝和全身炎症状态的改变有关。尽管尚不清楚每种组织学病变是否代表不同的疾病，还是同一种疾病的不同阶段，但 NAFLD 中的炎症过程可能会影响其病理生理学和预后。特别是，非酒精性脂肪性肝炎（NAFLD 中最具炎症性的病变，更常发展为慢性和严重的肝病）的特征是炎症细胞的显著激活和几种可溶性炎症介质的上调。在几种介质中，细胞因子和趋化因子可能在 NAFLD 中发挥关键作用，并被认为是潜在的治疗靶点。在这篇综述中，我们将更新基础研究和临床研究中关于细胞因子和趋化因子在 NAFLD 病理生理学中潜在作用的证据。
