Tumor necrosis factor and its potential role in insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a spectrum of hepatic pathology that resembles alcohol-induced fatty liver disease(AFLD), but which develops in individuals who are not heavy drinkers. In people, NAFLD is associated strongly with obesity,insulin resistance, and dysmetabolic syndrome, but the exact mechanisms that promote liver disease in this clinical context remain poorly understood. The proinflammatory cytokine, funor necrosis factor alpha is known to be a key mediator of AFLD. This article discusses clinical and experimental evidence that tumor necrosis factor plays a role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance syndromes, including nonalcoholic fatty syndromes, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Ross Research Building, Room 918, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21205-2109, USA. annamae.diehl@duke.edu
Anna Mae
AM
Diehl
D000818:Animals; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D009765:Obesity / Q000276:immunology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000502:physiology*
D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha