Integrated bioinformatics analysis of microRNA expression profiles for an in-depth understanding of pathogenic mechanisms in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

摘要

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) ranges from simple fatty liver to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which in turn may progress to fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, NAFLD is a multifaceted disease that develops from a complex network of interactions among different causative factors.1 Several authors have tried to clarify the effective or causal role of intra-hepatic insulin resistance, fat accumulation, oxidative stress, adipocytokine production/release and activation of the innate immune system during NAFLD pathogenesis.2 However, there still remain uncertainties about the molecular interactions and the regulation mechanisms of the thousands of genes (and the proteins encoded by them) during development and progression of this disease.