https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37497846/ NAFLD

Review

Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Jul 29;1-8.
doi: 10.1080/17474124.2023.2242245. Online ahead of print.

The challenging role of micro-RNAs in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children with obesity: is it time for a new era?

Mario Bartiromo 1, Michele Nardolillo 1, Serena Ferrara 1, Giuseppina Russo 1, Emanuele Miraglia Del Giudice 1, Anna Di Sessa 1
Affiliations expand
PMID: 37497846

DOI: 10.1080/17474124.2023.2242245
Abstract

Introduction: As the pediatric obesity epidemic, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the most common chronic liver disease in childhood. Pediatric NAFLD pathophysiology is tangled and still unclear, but insulin resistance (IR), genetics, epigenetics, oxidative stress, and inflammation act as key players. Due to the increased cardiometabolic risk of these patients, several biomarkers have been proposed for early NAFLD identification, but their clinical utility is poor. Recently, hepatic dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been linked to metabolic dysfunction, which in turn implied in NAFLD development. Evidence on the intriguing role of miRNAs in NAFLD pathogenesis has emerging especially in at-risk children such as those with obesity. However, pediatric evidence supporting their potential use as early noninvasive NAFLD tools is still limited but promising.

Areas covered: We provided an overview on the emerging role of miRNAs in pediatric NAFLD by addressing some issues regarding their pathophysiological link with the metabolic milieu and their role as reliable NAFLD markers in children with obesity.

Expert opinion: Strong evidence supports a potential role of miRNAs as early biomarkers of NAFLD in children with obesity. They might represent a valid diagnostic and targeted therapeutic tool due to its close pathogenic link with the metabolic milieu.