Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Liver Diseases: Promising Molecular Drug Targets and their Clinical Development

Abstract

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases have become a serious concern whole over the world. Both these liver diseases have an identical pathology, starting from simple steatosis to cirrhosis and ultimately to hepatocellular carcinoma. Treatment options for alcoholic liver disease (ALD) are still same as it was 50 years ago which includes corticosteroids, pentoxifylline, antioxidants, nutritional support and abstinence; and for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) weight loss, insulin sensitizers, lipid lowering agents and anti-oxidants are the only treatment options. Despite of broad research in understanding the disease pathophysiology, limited treatments are available for clinical use. Some therapeutic strategies based on targeting a specific molecule have been developed to lessen the consequences of disease and are under clinical investigation. Therefore, focus on multiple molecular targets will help to develop an efficient therapeutic strategy. This review comprises of brief overview of pathogenesis of ALD and NAFLD; recent molecular drug targets explored for ALD and NAFLD that may prove to be effective for multiple therapeutic regimens and also clinical status of these promising drug targets for liver diseases.

Lactobacillus plantarum J26 Alleviating Alcohol-Induced Liver Inflammation by Maintaining the Intestinal Barrier and Regulating MAPK Signaling Pathways

“…According to statistics, more than 2 billion people worldwide regularly drink alcohol, and approximately 3 million people die from excessive alcohol consumption each year, accounting for 6% of all deaths worldwide [ 1 ]. Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the chronic disease with the highest morbidity and mortality in the world, and alcohol exposure is strongly associated with ALD [ 2 ]. ALD includes alcoholic fatty liver, alcoholic steatohepatitis, alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic fibrosis, which may lead to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) [ 3 ].…”

The important role of glycerophospholipid metabolism in the protective effects of polyphenol-enriched Tartary buckwheat extract against alcoholic liver disease

“…13,14 ALD is closely related to abnormal lipid metabolism and exploring the variation of lipid profiles will facilitate the understanding of the pathogenesis and drug targets of this disease. 15…”

“…13,14 ALD is closely related to abnormal lipid metabolism and exploring the variation of lipid profiles will facilitate the understanding of the pathogenesis and drug targets of this disease. 15 Tartary buckwheat has been reported to protect against ALD, but the specific mechanism remains unclear. 16,17 Herein, we aimed to elucidate the beneficial effects of Tartary buckwheat extract in terms of lipid metabolism with the aid of lipidomic analysis.…”

Inhibition of γ‐glutamyltransferase ameliorates ischaemia‐reoxygenation tissue damage in rats with hepatic steatosis

“…Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease throughout the world with an estimate prevalence of 20%-25% people (Huang, Behary, & Zekry, 2020;Thapa et al, 2020).…”

“…Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease throughout the world with an estimate prevalence of 20%–25% people (Huang, Behary, & Zekry, 2020; Thapa et al, 2020). In individuals with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease, excess hepatic fat is associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular events, abnormal resting electrocardiography and endothelial dysfunction (Sanyal, 2011).…”