Life science. More and more people suffer from fatty liver (steatosis of the liver) caused, among other things, by being overweight. The University of Graz studies molecular effects and novel therapies.
Obesity, lack of exercise, or long-term use of medications can lead to excessive accumulation of fat in the liver. As a result, the organ performs vital tasks, such as breaking down toxins or producing bile, which is important for digestion, only poorly or not at all. If obesity persists for a longer period, it can lead to serious diseases such as inflammation, sclerosis, cancer or type 2 diabetes, as the University of Graz explains in a broadcast.
Harmful fat molecules are no longer sufficiently broken down
Researchers at the University of Graz have now elucidated a molecular mechanism in the development of fatty liver. Specifically, they studied a specific group of proteins called carboxylesterases that are responsible for breaking down harmful fat molecules (Publishing in Molecular metabolism: Chalhoub et al.: “Deletion of carboxyl esterase 2a provokes hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance in rats involving impaired diacetylglycerol and lysophosphatidylcholine catabolism”.
“The number of these proteins decreases in liver cells when we eat a lot of fat. If there are too few of them, harmful fats accumulate. This leads to insulin resistance and inflammation in human liver cells, ”explains Günter Hammerl from the Institute for Molecular Biosciences at the University of Graz.
It is hoped that these findings will open up new possibilities for treating organ diseases at the molecular level. “It would be conceivable, for example, to stimulate the formation of proteins with certain active ingredients, thus preventing malignant changes in the liver from developing,” says the researcher.
Developing effective treatment approaches is especially important because more and more adults in industrialized countries are affected by fatty liver, according to Hammerley. Increases were also recorded among children and youth. At the same time, the scientist points out that you can do a lot on your own to avoid illness. A low-fat, low-alcohol diet and exercise contribute greatly to this.