Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common chronic liver disease worldwide in part due to the concomitant obesity pandemic and insulin resistance (IR). It is increasingly becoming evident that NAFLD is a disease affecting numerous extrahepatic vital organs and regulatory pathways. The molecular mechanisms underlying the nonalcoholic steatosis formation are poorly understood, and little information is available on the pathways that are responsible for the progressive hepatocellular damage that follows lipid accumulation. Recently, much research has focused on the identification of the epigenetic modifications that contribute to NAFLD pathogenesis. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are one of such epigenetic factors that could be implicated in the NAFLD development and progression. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the genetic and epigenetic factors potentially underlying the disease. Particular emphasis will be put on the contribution of microRNAs (miRNAs), long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs) to the pathophysiology of NAFLD as well as their potential use as therapeutic targets or as markers for the prediction and the progression of the disease.

中文翻译：

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非酒精性脂肪肝中的非编码 RNA：潜在的诊断和预后生物标志物

非酒精性脂肪肝病（NAFLD）是目前全球最常见的慢性肝病，部分原因是伴随的肥胖流行和胰岛素抵抗（IR）。越来越明显的是，NAFLD 是一种影响众多肝外重要器官和调节途径的疾病。人们对非酒精性脂肪变性形成的分子机制知之甚少，并且关于脂质积累后导致进行性肝细胞损伤的途径的信息也很少。最近，许多研究集中在鉴定导致 NAFLD 发病机制的表观遗传修饰。非编码 RNA (ncRNA) 是可能与 NAFLD 发生和进展有关的表观遗传因素之一。在这篇综述中，我们总结了目前对该疾病潜在的遗传和表观遗传因素的了解。将特别强调 microRNA (miRNA)、长链非编码 RNA (lncRNA) 和环状 RNA (circRNA) 对 NAFLD 病理生理学的贡献，以及它们作为治疗靶点或作为预测和进展标记物的潜在用途的疾病。