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Ghrelin and liver disease

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Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are two of the most common liver diseases associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of these conditions are increasingly rising and presently there is not a pharmacological option available in the market. Elucidation of the mechanism of action and the molecular underpinnings behind liver disease could help to better understand the pathophysiology of these illnesses. In this sense, in the last years modulation of the ghrelin system in preclinical animal models emerge as a promising therapeutic tool. In this review, we compile the latest knowledge of the modulation of ghrelin system and its intracellular pathways that regulates lipid metabolism, hepatic inflammation and liver fibrosis. We also describe novel processes implicated in the regulation of liver disease by ghrelin, such as autophagy or dysregulated circadian rhythms. In conclusion, the information displayed in this review support that the ghrelin system could be an appealing strategy for the treatment of liver disease.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by grants of Xunta (MQ: 2018-PG013). Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER) de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn). Western Norway Regional Health Authority (Helse Vest RHF), CIBERobn is an initiative of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) of Spain which is supported by FEDER funds. M.Q. is a recipient of a Postdoctoral contract from Galician Government (Xunta de Galicia ED481B2018/004). The figures were generated by using materials from Servier Medical Art (Servier) under consideration of a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, CIMUS, University of Santiago de Compostela-Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Mar Quiñones

  2. CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), 15706, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Mar Quiñones

  3. Hormone Laboratory, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway

    Johan Fernø

  4. Inserm UMR-S1270, 75005, Paris, France

    Omar Al-Massadi

  5. Faculté des Sciences et d’Ingénierie, Sorbonne Université, 75005, Paris, France

    Omar Al-Massadi

  6. Institut du Fer a Moulin, Inserm, 17 rue du Fer à Moulin, 75005, Paris, France

    Omar Al-Massadi

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  1. Mar Quiñones
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OA-M conceptualized the article, MQ performed the literature search and data analysis, MQ, JF and OA-M drafted and/or critically revised the work.

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Quiñones, M., Fernø, J. & Al-Massadi, O. Ghrelin and liver disease. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 21, 45–56 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11154-019-09528-6

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