Inhibition of ATP-citrate lyase improves NASH, liver fibrosis, and dyslipidemia
McMaster University
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects over 25% of Canadians and is a leading risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and liver transplant yet despite its prevalence there are currently no approved medicines to treat the disease.
Reseachers at McMaster University have found that by reducing the activity of an enzyme, that converts sugar to fat, called ATP citrate lyase (ACLY), this lowers liver fat and inflammation while also reducing blood glucose and cholesterol.
They also show that this pathway can be pharmacologically inhibited using a medicine recently approved for lowering cholesterol levels in humans and that in people with lower levels of ACLY there are reduced levels of blood markers of liver damage.
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