Key to fatty liver disease and its consequences for billions of people

The reason why some people remain relatively healthy with fatty liver disease (also known as NASH, NAFLD or MASLD) and some go on to contract potentially life-threatening illnesses has been a mystery. Until now.

A study published today in The Journal of Clinical Investigation led by Professor Tony Tiganis from Monash University’s Biomedicine Discovery Institute has shown that the levels of the NOX4 protein change as the disease progresses — rising in the early stages of the disease to protect the liver, but declining as the liver disease gets worse.

“Compounds that bolster the activity of NOX4, or the adaptive program that NOX4 instigates, may be highly beneficial, countering not only the development of NASH, but also improving skeletal and cardiac function, as well as metabolic health,” Professor Tiganis said.

Such compounds are found naturally in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli or cauliflower.

Importantly, the discovery provides evidence to support a therapeutic pipeline for a disease, which is predicted to balloon by 63% from 2015 to 2030.