Diabetes Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar.
College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Education City, Doha, Qatar.
Dis Markers. 2020 Aug 27;2020:8822859. doi: 10.1155/2020/8822859. eCollection 2020.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common chronic liver disease worldwide in part due to the concomitant obesity pandemic and insulin resistance (IR). It is increasingly becoming evident that NAFLD is a disease affecting numerous extrahepatic vital organs and regulatory pathways. The molecular mechanisms underlying the nonalcoholic steatosis formation are poorly understood, and little information is available on the pathways that are responsible for the progressive hepatocellular damage that follows lipid accumulation. Recently, much research has focused on the identification of the epigenetic modifications that contribute to NAFLD pathogenesis. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are one of such epigenetic factors that could be implicated in the NAFLD development and progression. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the genetic and epigenetic factors potentially underlying the disease. Particular emphasis will be put on the contribution of microRNAs (miRNAs), long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs) to the pathophysiology of NAFLD as well as their potential use as therapeutic targets or as markers for the prediction and the progression of the disease.
非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）是目前全球最常见的慢性肝病，部分原因是肥胖症和胰岛素抵抗（IR）的同时流行。越来越明显的是，NAFLD 是一种影响众多肝外重要器官和调节途径的疾病。非酒精性脂肪性形成的分子机制尚未完全了解，对于导致脂质积累后肝细胞损伤进展的途径知之甚少。最近，大量研究集中在确定导致 NAFLD 发病机制的表观遗传修饰上。非编码 RNA（ncRNA）是一种可能与 NAFLD 发展和进展有关的表观遗传因素。在这篇综述中，我们总结了潜在疾病的遗传和表观遗传因素的最新知识。特别强调微小 RNA（miRNA）、长非编码 RNA（lncRNA）和环状 RNA（circRNA）对 NAFLD 病理生理学的贡献，以及它们作为治疗靶点或作为疾病预测和进展的标志物的潜在用途。
