Department of Pharmacy, School of Life and Health Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, 233100, China.
State Key Laboratory of Tea Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Science and Technology of Tea and Food, Anhui Agricultural University, No. 130, Changjiang West Road, Hefei, 230036, Anhui, China.
Biochem Genet. 2018 Oct;56(5):423-449. doi: 10.1007/s10528-018-9870-9. Epub 2018 Jun 27.
In this review, we summarize the current understanding of microRNA (miRNA)-mediated modulation of the gene expression in the fatty liver as well as related signaling pathways. Because of the breadth and diversity of miRNAs, miRNAs may have a very wide variety of biological functions, and much evidence has confirmed that miRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of fatty liver. In the pathophysiological mechanism of fatty liver, miRNAs may be regulated by upstream regulators, and have their own regulatory targets. miRNAs display important roles in the pathological mechanisms of alcoholic liver disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. At present, most of the miRNA studies are focused on cell and tissue levels, and in vivo studies will help us elucidate the regulation of miRNAs and help us evaluate the potential of miRNAs as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets. Furthermore, there is evidence that miRNAs are involved in the mechanism of natural medicine treatment in fatty liver. Given the important roles of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of fatty liver, we predict that studies of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of fatty liver will contribute to the elucidation of fatty liver pathology and the treatment of fatty liver patients.
在这篇综述中，我们总结了目前对 miRNA（microRNA）介导的肝脏脂肪变性基因表达调控及其相关信号通路的认识。由于 miRNA 的广泛性和多样性，miRNA 可能具有非常广泛的生物学功能，大量证据已经证实 miRNA 参与了脂肪肝的发病机制。在脂肪肝的病理生理机制中，miRNA 可能受到上游调控因子的调控，并具有自己的调控靶点。miRNA 在酒精性肝病和非酒精性脂肪性肝病的病理机制中发挥重要作用。目前，大多数 miRNA 研究都集中在细胞和组织水平，而体内研究将有助于我们阐明 miRNA 的调控作用，并有助于我们评估 miRNA 作为诊断标志物和治疗靶点的潜力。此外，有证据表明 miRNA 参与了脂肪肝的天然药物治疗机制。鉴于 miRNA 在脂肪肝发病机制中的重要作用，我们预测 miRNA 在脂肪肝发病机制中的研究将有助于阐明脂肪肝的病理学和脂肪肝患者的治疗。
