Review Article
Beneficial mechanisms of aerobic exercise on hepatic lipid metabolism in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1499-3872(15)60355-1Get rights and content

Background

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to any fatty liver disease that is not due to excessive use of alcohol. NAFLD probably results from abnormal hepatic lipid metabolism and insulin resistance. Aerobic exercise is shown to improve NAFLD. This review aimed to evaluate the molecular mechanisms involved in the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise on NAFLD.

Data source

We searched articles in English on the role of aerobic exercise in NAFLD therapy in PubMed.

Results

The mechanisms of chronic aerobic exercise in regulating the outcome of NAFLD include: (i) reducing intrahepatic fat content by down-regulating sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c and up-regulating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ expression levels; (ii) decreasing hepatic oxidative stress through modulating the reactive oxygen species, and enhancing antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and glutathione peroxidase; (iii) ameliorating hepatic inflammation via the inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta; (iv) attenuating mitochondrial dependent apoptosis by reducing cytochrome C released from the mitochondria to the cytosol; and (v) inducing hepato-protective autophagy.

Conclusion

Aerobic exercise, via different mechanisms, significantly decreases the fat content of the liver and improves the outcomes of patients with NAFLD.

References (47)

  • L Luo et al.

    Chronic resistance training activates autophagy and reduces apoptosis of muscle cells by modulating IGF-1 and its receptors, Akt/mTOR and Akt/FOXO3a signaling in aged rats

    Exp Gerontol

    (2013)
  • SY Wang et al.

    Core signaling pathways of survival/death in autophagy-related cancer networks

    Int J Biochem Cell Biol

    (2011)
  • VJ Lavallard et al.

    Autophagy, signaling and obesity

    Pharmacol Res

    (2012)
  • HS Jeong et al.

    Involvement of caspase-9 in autophagy-mediated cell survival pathway

    Biochim Biophys Acta

    (2011)
  • N Miyakoshi

    Therapeutic exercise

    Clin Calcium

    (2008)
  • KD Kistler et al.

    Physical activity recommendations, exercise intensity, and histological severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

    Am J Gastroenterol

    (2011)
  • T Murase et al.

    Green tea extract improves endurance capacity and increases muscle lipid oxidation in mice

    Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol

    (2005)
  • NA Johnson et al.

    Exercise and the liver: implications for therapy in fatty liver disorders

    Semin Liver Dis

    (2012)
  • YY Huang et al.

    Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: molecular pathways and therapeutic strategies

    Lipids Health Dis

    (2013)
  • N Tailor et al.

    Antioxidant hybrid compounds: a promising therapeutic intervention in oxidative stress induced diseases

    Mini Rev Med Chem

    (2013)
  • Q Fan et al.

    Aging might augment reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and affect reactive nitrogen species (RNS) level after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion in both humans and rats

    Age (Dordr)

    (2013)
  • PA Prakash et al.

    A review on direct electrochemistry of catalase for electrochemical sensors

    Sensors (Basel)

    (2009)
  • E Lubos et al.

    Glutathione peroxidase-1 in health and disease: from molecular mechanisms to therapeutic opportunities

    Antioxid Redox Signal

    (2011)
  • Cited by (52)

    • Impact of aerobic training with and without whole-body vibration training on metabolic features and quality of life in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients

      2020, Annales d'Endocrinologie
      Citation Excerpt :

      Insulin resistance is the main factor responsible for the development of steatosis in hepatocytes in NAFLD [1]. It has been shown in previous studies that insulin resistance management can be provided by aerobic and/or strengthening exercise training [2–4]. However, there is no clarity about the most effective exercise training in NAFLD.

    • Effect high-intensity interval training along with Oligopin supplementation on some inflammatory indices and liver enzymes in obese male Wistar rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

      2020, Obesity Medicine
      Citation Excerpt :

      The IL-6 level in the HFD-HIIT + O group decreased significantly when compared with HFD-O. Generally, NAFLD which is the result of HFD, leads to hepatic inflammation if it enhances the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators such as TNF-α and IL-1β. Clinical and pre-clinical studies indicated that hepatic inflammation improves as a result of physical exercise by down-regulation of the pro-inflammatory mediators (Guo et al., 2015; Vieira et al., 2009). The previous studies have revealed significant decreases in serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α, following a 12-week HIIT in patients with metabolic syndrome (Steckling et al., 2016, 2019).

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    Published online March 18, 2015.

    View full text