Potential Therapeutic Application of Estrogen in Gender Disparity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) caused by fat accumulation in the liver is globally the most common cause of chronic liver disease. Simple steatosis can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a more severe form of NAFLD. The most potent driver for NASH is hepatocyte death induced...
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MDPI AG
2019-10-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/8/10/1259 |
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| author | Chanbin Lee Jieun Kim Youngmi Jung |
| author_facet | Chanbin Lee Jieun Kim Youngmi Jung |
| author_sort | Chanbin Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) caused by fat accumulation in the liver is globally the most common cause of chronic liver disease. Simple steatosis can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a more severe form of NAFLD. The most potent driver for NASH is hepatocyte death induced by lipotoxicity, which triggers inflammation and fibrosis, leading to cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. Despite the significant burden of NAFLD, there is no therapy for NAFLD/NASH. Accumulating evidence indicates gender-related NAFLD progression. A higher incidence of NAFLD is found in men and postmenopausal women than premenopausal women, and the experimental results, showing protective actions of estradiol in liver diseases, suggest that estrogen, as the main female hormone, is associated with the progression of NAFLD/NASH. However, the mechanism explaining the functions of estrogen in NAFLD remains unclear because of the lack of reliable animal models for NASH, the imbalance between the sexes in animal experiments, and subsequent insufficient results. Herein, we reviewed the pathogenesis of NAFLD/NASH focused on gender and proposed a feasible association of estradiol with NAFLD/NASH based on the findings reported thus far. This review would help to expand our knowledge of the gender differences in NAFLD and for developing gender-based treatment strategies for NAFLD/NASH. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T08:25:17Z |
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| issn | 2073-4409 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T08:25:17Z |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-f67d961b0ccd4b44a0ee12093ce1dbf62023-09-02T18:09:45ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092019-10-01810125910.3390/cells8101259cells8101259Potential Therapeutic Application of Estrogen in Gender Disparity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Nonalcoholic SteatohepatitisChanbin Lee0Jieun Kim1Youngmi Jung2Department of Integrated Biological Science, Pusan National University, 63–2, Pusandaehak-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Pusan 46241, KoreaDepartment of Integrated Biological Science, Pusan National University, 63–2, Pusandaehak-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Pusan 46241, KoreaDepartment of Integrated Biological Science, Pusan National University, 63–2, Pusandaehak-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Pusan 46241, KoreaNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) caused by fat accumulation in the liver is globally the most common cause of chronic liver disease. Simple steatosis can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a more severe form of NAFLD. The most potent driver for NASH is hepatocyte death induced by lipotoxicity, which triggers inflammation and fibrosis, leading to cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. Despite the significant burden of NAFLD, there is no therapy for NAFLD/NASH. Accumulating evidence indicates gender-related NAFLD progression. A higher incidence of NAFLD is found in men and postmenopausal women than premenopausal women, and the experimental results, showing protective actions of estradiol in liver diseases, suggest that estrogen, as the main female hormone, is associated with the progression of NAFLD/NASH. However, the mechanism explaining the functions of estrogen in NAFLD remains unclear because of the lack of reliable animal models for NASH, the imbalance between the sexes in animal experiments, and subsequent insufficient results. Herein, we reviewed the pathogenesis of NAFLD/NASH focused on gender and proposed a feasible association of estradiol with NAFLD/NASH based on the findings reported thus far. This review would help to expand our knowledge of the gender differences in NAFLD and for developing gender-based treatment strategies for NAFLD/NASH.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/8/10/1259nonalcoholic fatty liver diseasenonalcoholic steatohepatitisgender disparity in liver responseestrogenliver inflammationliver fibrosisgender-based therapy |
| spellingShingle | Chanbin Lee Jieun Kim Youngmi Jung Potential Therapeutic Application of Estrogen in Gender Disparity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Cells nonalcoholic fatty liver disease nonalcoholic steatohepatitis gender disparity in liver response estrogen liver inflammation liver fibrosis gender-based therapy |
| title | Potential Therapeutic Application of Estrogen in Gender Disparity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis |
| title_full | Potential Therapeutic Application of Estrogen in Gender Disparity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis |
| title_fullStr | Potential Therapeutic Application of Estrogen in Gender Disparity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential Therapeutic Application of Estrogen in Gender Disparity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis |
| title_short | Potential Therapeutic Application of Estrogen in Gender Disparity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis |
| title_sort | potential therapeutic application of estrogen in gender disparity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease nonalcoholic steatohepatitis |
| topic | nonalcoholic fatty liver disease nonalcoholic steatohepatitis gender disparity in liver response estrogen liver inflammation liver fibrosis gender-based therapy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/8/10/1259 |
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