Novel findings for the development of drug therapy for various liver diseases: Liver microsomal triglyceride transfer protein activator may be a possible therapeutic agent in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) polymorphism modulates lipoprotein metabolism in the general population and liver disease in NASH; a functional MTP polymorphism recently predicted incident diabetes independently of insulin resistance in the general population.
The impact of MTP-493 G/T polymorphism, adipokines, and diet on postprandial lipoprotein profile and liver disease was assessed in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Circulating concentrations of adipokines (ie, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, adiponectin, resistin, leptin, and interleukin-6), markers of nitrosative stress (nitrotyrosine), dietary habits, and MTP-493G/T polymorphism were cross-sectionally related to the presence and severity of insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment index for insulin resistance: >or=2), the metabolic syndrome, and fatty liver in 64 nonobese nondiabetic patients with NAFLD (33 insulin-sensitive and 31 insulin-resistant subjects) and 74 control subjects without liver disease who were matched for sex, BMI, homeostasis model assessment index for insulin resistance status, and the various features of the metabolic syndrome.