Research progress on the regulation of cholesterol metabolism in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease / 中华临床营养杂志

ABSTRACT

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common chronic liver diseases worldwide nowadays. Given the very complex pathogenesis, there are yet no effective pharmacological agents for the treatment of NAFLD. Accumulating evidence has shown that cholesterol metabolism dysregulation, resulting in excess cholesterol accumulation in the liver and subsequent hepatic inflammation and injury, is one of the most important causes for the occurrence and development of NAFLD. This suggests the application of cholesterol metabolism- targeting therapeutic strategy in NAFLD. This review firstly summarized the pathogenesis of NAFLD, then focused on the regulation of cholesterol metabolism and underlying mechanisms through which excess hepatic cholesterol contributed to NAFLD, and reviewed the research progress on cholesterol-lowering agents aimed at maintaining the cholesterol homeostasis to treat NAFLD, which would provide insights for novel strategies to treat NAFLD in both preclinical studies and clinical settings.