title: The multiple-hit pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
abstract: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly prevalent and represents a growing challenge in terms of prevention and treatment. Despite its high prevalence, only a small minority of affected patients develops inflammation and subsequently fibrosis and chronic liver disease, while most of them only exhibit simple steatosis. In this context, the full understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of NAFLD and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is of extreme importance; despite advances in this field, knowledge on the pathogenesis of NAFLD is still incomplete. The 'two-hit' hypothesis is now obsolete, as it is inadequate to explain the several molecular and metabolic changes that take place in NAFLD. The "multiple hit" hypothesis considers multiple insults acting together on genetically predisposed subjects to induce NAFLD and provides a more accurate explanation of NAFLD pathogenesis. Such hits include insulin resistance, hormones secreted from the adipose tissue, nutritional factors, gut microbiota and genetic and epigenetic factors. In this article, we review the factors that form this hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health and Sheila Sherlock Liver Unit, Royal Free Hospital and UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Buzzetti
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health and Sheila Sherlock Liver Unit, Royal Free Hospital and UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pinzani
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health and Sheila Sherlock Liver Unit, Royal Free Hospital and UCL, London, UK. Electronic address: e.tsochatzis@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Emmanuel A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Tsochatzis
mesh_terms: D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics
keywords: Gut microbiome; Insulin resistance; Lipotoxicity; Metabolic syndrome; PNPLA3