Role of Hepatokines in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Yini Ke; Chengfu Xu; Jin Lin; Youming Li

doi:10.2478/jtim-2019-0029

Role of Hepatokines in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

J Transl Int Med. 2019 Dec 31;7(4):143-148. doi: 10.2478/jtim-2019-0029. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Authors

Yini Ke¹, Chengfu Xu², Jin Lin¹, Youming Li²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China.
² Department of Gastroenterology, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China.

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is closely associated with metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes and obesity. In recent decades, accumulating evidence has revealed that the hepatokines, proteins mainly secreted by the liver, play important roles in the development of NAFLD by acting directly on the lipid and glucose metabolism. As a member of organokines, the hepatokines establish the communication between the liver and the adipose, muscular tissues. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the hepatokines and how they modulate the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders especially NAFLD.

Keywords: FGF21; Fetuin A; hepatokine; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; selenoprotein P.

Publication types

Review