Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent health issue, affecting approximately 30% of people in Western countries and showing a sharp increase over the last three decades.
Despite numerous attempts and clinical trials, there are currently no approved treatments for NAFLD, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver transplant in severe cases.
Scientists, led by biochemist Nabil G. Seidah of the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM), have made groundbreaking discoveries regarding the PCSK7 gene’s role in NAFLD.
The PCSK7 gene produces a chaperone protein PCSK7 that regulates apoB, the primary protein in LDL cholesterol particles.
Removing PCSK7 led to a 50% degradation of apoB and prevented hepatic steatosis (fatty liver).
Mice injected with antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) targeting PCSK7 mRNA experienced a reversal of diet-induced NAFLD, demonstrating a promising treatment target.
The researchers are developing ASOs to target the human PCSK7 gene and plan to test their effectiveness in human cells and humanized PCSK7 mice, potentially leading to clinical trials.
This research is part of the IRCM’s Sidney-Altman RNA Therapeutic Hub, focusing on the development of RNA-based therapies to advance discoveries from laboratories to clinical use.
The findings offer hope for the development of a potential treatment for NAFLD, a condition with limited therapeutic options.
If you care about liver health, please read studies about a diet that can treat fatty liver disease and obesity, and coffee drinkers may halve their risk of liver cancer.
For more information about liver health, please see recent studies that anti-inflammatory diet could help prevent fatty liver disease, and results showing vitamin D could help prevent non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
The research findings can be found in Metabolism.
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