30% of the population have pure non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, according to theHealth Insurance. This pathology, also called “non-alcoholic fatty liver disease”, is characterized by an accumulation of fat in the liver, apart from any excessive consumption of alcohol.
Cellular wrinkles on the nucleus and the nuclear lamina
Generally, at the beginning, this accumulation of fat (triglycerides) in liver cells can be controlled and cured with lifestyle and dietary measures. If nothing is put in place, the inflammation of the liver worsens and we then speak of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis which can progress to liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, with a risk of liver cancer.
The main risk factors for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are type 2 diabetes and abdominal obesity. But, according to a new study published in the journal Genome Research, there would also be another explanation: the wrinkles that form on the cell nuclei, which contain our DNA, and the nuclear lamina, a network of filaments that lines the inner nuclear membrane of a cell. Indeed, as we age, the nuclei of the cells that contain our DNA wrinkle, which is called “cellular wrinkles”.
The researchers therefore believe that these cellular wrinkles might be a cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. “We found a common mechanism involving the nucleus and the nuclear lamina which leads to the accumulation of fat in the liver in the elderly and young people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, explains Irina M. Bochkis, one of the authors of the study. Our findings might lead to new treatments (…) for young or elderly patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.“
Gene activity is altered
The nuclear lamina connects the nuclear membrane of the cell and the genetic material, i.e. DNA, it contains. According to the authors, the formation of cellular wrinkles at the level of the nuclear lamina – but also at the level of the cell nucleus – affects the activity of genes that control fat storage. So, in some people, these genes become overactive and their liver fills with fat. They are therefore suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
To achieve this result, the researchers analyzed liver cells taken from patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, aged 21 to 51 years. Thus, they observed wrinkles on their liver cells. According to them, this therefore explains why the disease can strike anyone, at any age.
Having identified cellular wrinkles as an explanatory factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease might, in the future, make it possible to diagnose the people most at risk and to develop new treatments. According to Irina M. Bochkis, one of the methods might be to smooth the surfaces of the membranes so that there are no more wrinkles and therefore the cells function properly once more.