Fatty liver disease has become a growing health problem around the world. One of its most serious forms is metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH.
In this disease, fat builds up inside the liver, causing inflammation and damage that can eventually lead to scarring, liver failure or liver cancer. Around 7% of people worldwide are believed to have MASH, yet there are still very few effective treatments available. This has encouraged scientists to search for new ways to stop or even reverse the disease.
A research team at Michigan Medicine has now reported encouraging results from an experimental treatment called DT-109. Their study was published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. The findings suggest that improving the health of the gut may also protect the liver, opening a completely different approach to treating MASH.
DT-109 is a small compound made from glycine, an amino acid that the body naturally uses to build proteins. Earlier research had already shown that the compound improved fatty liver disease in animals. In the new study, the scientists wanted to understand exactly how it worked.
They discovered that one important cause of liver damage was an overgrowth of a gut bacterium called Clostridium perfringens. This bacterium produces large amounts of ammonia inside the intestines. Too much ammonia damages the lining of the gut, making it easier for harmful substances from bacteria to leak into the bloodstream.
Once these harmful substances reach the liver, they trigger inflammation and activate the immune system. Over time, this ongoing attack makes liver disease worse. The researchers found that DT-109 interrupted this harmful chain of events.
In studies involving mice and non-human primates, DT-109 reduced the amount of Clostridium perfringens and lowered ammonia production. The gut lining became stronger, preventing harmful bacterial products from escaping into the blood. As a result, inflammation in the liver was reduced and signs of MASH improved.
The results in non-human primates were especially encouraging because their digestive systems are more similar to those of humans than those of mice. This gives researchers greater confidence that the approach may eventually work in people. However, human clinical trials are still needed before any conclusions can be made.
The researchers also believe DT-109 could have benefits beyond liver disease. Previous studies suggest it may help reduce artery plaque and blood vessel calcification, which are linked with heart disease. Because a damaged gut barrier is also associated with inflammatory bowel disease, the drug might eventually be studied for digestive disorders as well.
The next step will be carefully designed clinical trials to test whether DT-109 is safe and effective in people. These studies are essential because treatments that work well in animals do not always produce the same results in humans.
This study provides new evidence that the health of the gut and liver are closely connected. A major strength of the research is that it explains how the drug appears to work rather than simply showing an effect.
Even so, the findings remain early because they are based on animal studies. If future human trials confirm these results, DT-109 could become an important new treatment for MASH and possibly other diseases linked to poor gut health.
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 health information, 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.
Source: University of Michigan.
