Metabolic Changes of Hepatocytes in NAFLD

Qianrang Lu; Xinyao Tian; Hao Wu; Jiacheng Huang; Mengxia Li; Zhibin Mei; Lin Zhou; Haiyang Xie; Shusen Zheng

doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.710420

Metabolic Changes of Hepatocytes in NAFLD

Front Physiol. 2021 Aug 30:12:710420. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.710420. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Qianrang Lu^{1

2}, Xinyao Tian^{1

2}, Hao Wu^{1

2}, Jiacheng Huang^{1

2}, Mengxia Li^{1

2}, Zhibin Mei^{1

2}, Lin Zhou^{1

2}, Haiyang Xie^{1

2}, Shusen Zheng^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
² NHC Key Laboratory of Combined Multi-organ Transplantation, Hangzhou, China.
³ Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery & Liver Transplantation, Shulan (Hangzhou) Hospital, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is often accompanied by systemic metabolic disorders such as hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and obesity. The relationship between NAFLD and systemic metabolic disorders has been well reviewed before, however, the metabolic changes that occur in hepatocyte itself have not been discussed. In NAFLD, many metabolic pathways have undergone significant changes in hepatocyte, such as enhanced glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, lactate production, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and decreased ketone body production, mitochondrial respiration, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis, which play a role in compensating or exacerbating disease progression, and there is close and complex interaction existed between these metabolic pathways. Among them, some metabolic pathways can be the potential therapeutic targets for NAFLD. A detailed summary of the metabolic characteristics of hepatocytes in the context of NAFLD helps us better understand the pathogenesis and outcomes of the disease.

Keywords: Insulin resistance; Metabolism; Mitochondrial dysfunction; NAFLD; WARBURG effect.

Publication types

Review