Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the fastest-growing liver disease in the world. Despite targeted agents which are needed to provide permanent benefits for patients with NAFLD, no drugs have been approved to treat NASH. Thyroid hormone is an important signaling molecule to maintain normal metabolism, and in vivo and vitro studies have shown that regulation of the 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3)/ thyroid hormone receptor (TR) axis is beneficial not only for metabolic symptoms but also for the improvement of NAFLD and even for the repair of liver injury. However, the non-selective regulation of T3 to TR subtypes (TRα/TRβ) could cause unacceptable side effects represented by cardiotoxicity. To avoid deleterious effects, TRβ-selective thyromimetics were developed for NASH studies in recent decades. Herein, we will review the development of thyroid hormones and synthetic thyromimetics based on TR selectivity for NAFLD, and analyze the role of TR-targeted drugs for the treatment of NAFLD in the future.
Keywords: NAFLD; NASH; thyroid hormone receptor (TR); thyroid hormones (THs); thyromimetics.