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The researchers propose a possible therapeutic target to treat fatty liver, a disease for which there is currently no treatment. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease describes several hepatic dysfunctions of varying severity, characterized by an accumulation of fat in liver cells and not caused by high alcohol consumption. This disease, one of the most prevalent in developed countries, affects about 25% of the world's population. A team from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) has identified one of the factors that confer protection against this disease, namely the protein Mitofusin 2.
"Mitofusin 2 appears to be a potential therapeutic target for the control of fatty liver, a disease for which no treatment is available.The early diagnosis of this disease is difficult and doctors are currently recommending that weight loss be relieve the disease, "says Antonio Zorzano, CEO. the laboratory of complex metabolic diseases and mitochondria of the IRB of Barcelona.
One of the most serious forms of fatty acid is NASH, in which fat accumulation is accompanied by inflammation. In this study published in the journal Cell, researchers have observed a decrease in mitofusin 2 levels in patients with NASH, even at the early stage of the disease.
Like humans, mice also develop this disease when levels of Mitofusin 2 decrease. By injecting a mouse model of NASH into an adenovirus containing the protein Mitofusin 2 – a virus modified to artificially express proteins – the team led by Zorzano, a senior professor at the University of Barcelona and researcher of the CIBERDEM program, observed improvement of NASH.
"We are currently studying different approaches that would allow us to increase the levels of Mitofusin 2, without producing side effects, and which could be useful in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease," states María Isabel Hernández- Alvarez, postdoctoral fellow. at the IRB of Barcelona and first author of the study.
This work was funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (formerly MINECO), the Catalan Government, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, the CIBERDEM, the "La Caixa" Foundation and the Institute Pere Virgili (IISPV).
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Material provided by Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
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