Lipid Metabolism in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is the most common liver disease worldwide. The prevalence of MASLD is increasing in parallel with an increment in type 2 diabetes and obesity, two metabolic dysfunctions MASLD is associated with. However, the exact mechanism of pathophysiology is yet to be determined. Dysregulated lipid metabolism is one of the major contributors to MASLD; hence, exploring the dynamics of hepatic lipid metabolism is essential to develop the therapeutic targets for the treatment of MASLD and advanced forms of MASLD, such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and cirrhosis.

The global prevalence of MASLD is escalating and is emerging as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. To date, no drug treatment has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the most common treatment strategy now is dietary intervention and exercise. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have suggested a strong association between genetic variants in some genes related to lipid metabolism and the development of MASLD. Dysfunction of lipid metabolism is considered the most common mechanism of the pathophysiology of MASLD; however, due to the complexity of lipid function and metabolism, the exact mechanism of lipid metabolism involvement in MASLD is not yet established. This Research Topic will explore the broad perspective of hepatic lipid metabolism to understand the mechanism of the pathophysiology of MASLD.

Researchers are encouraged to submit original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, systematic reviews, case reports, perspectives, short communications as well as theoretical papers, opinions, and methods relevant to this article collection that will cover topics such as (but not limited to):
- genetic variants in lipid metabolism pathways associated with MASLD
- hepatic lipid accumulation in MASLD
- de novo lipogenesis in the liver
- fatty acid oxidation in the liver
- experimental models to study MASLD
- liver-adipose tissue crosstalk in MASLD

Keywords: MASLD, hepatic lipid metabolism, liver pathophysiology, genetic variant, de novo lipogenesis, fatty acid oxidation, experimental model, liver-adipose tissue crosstalk

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