Indian Scientists Closer to Treating Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver affliction across the globe. It affects more than 30% adult Indians and occurs when more than 5 to 10% of the liver's weight is fat. There is no definite therapy for the disease.

Advancing the hunt for elusive therapeutics against NAFLD, the Indian researchers have discovered a new mechanism through which the liver hoards up extra fat from sources other than alcohol.

Fatty Liver Disease: A Growing Health Problem in India - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of liver dysfunction worldwide and is a rapidly growing health problem in India.

‘A new mechanism through which the liver hoards up extra fat from sources other than alcohol has been discovered by Indian researchers.’

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They have also identified a brand new drug target for potential therapy for the disease, that tends to develop in people who are overweight or obese or have type-2 diabetes.

Moreover, a significant number of NAFLD patients progress to the most extreme form of the disease called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), an irreversible clinical condition that causes the liver to swell and become damaged and trigger cirrhosis in adults.

The senior researcher Partha Chakrabarti's research group along with Saikat Chakrabarti's laboratory at Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, a unit of CSIR, decided to take a shot at the silent, crippling disease that evolves over decades, its prevalence advantaged with low public awareness.

Non-invasive Tool to Screen Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Framingham Steatosis Index considers factors like age, gender, hypertension, triglyceride levels, diabetes, the ratio of liver enzymes to diagnose NAFLD.

They literally copped their eyes on to the cell's protein degradation machinery to zero-in on the target protein COP1.

"Multiple molecular mechanisms believed to cause NAFLD have been put forward over the years. However, we identified a hitherto unknown mechanism for the control of liver fat," Chakrabarti, Cell Biology & Physiology Division at the institute told IANS.

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Deleting the protein HNF6 which activates protein transcription, in liver cells of adult transgenic mice leads to fatty liver syndrome.

"We find that inhibition of COP1 can significantly reduce liver fat in NAFLD. However, it is still not clear whether COP1 can halt disease progression or can prevent NASH. We are currently working in this direction," Chakrabarti added.

The study has been published in the journal Diabetes, from American Diabetes Association (ADA).

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Lean patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease have higher overall mortality rate than obese persons, despite being of a healthier weight, reports a new research.

According to CSIR-IICB Director Samit Chattopadhyay, the development will motivate the scientific community to come up with new solutions to this global problem and is "geared towards India's goal of delivering translational research outputs to the nation."

Source-IANS