ABSTRACT

Introduction: Telomerase is a basic nuclear protein reverse transcriptase, which plays a key role in maintaining telomere stability, genome integrity, long-term cell activity, and potential continued proliferation.

Area covered: This narrative review discusses key research advances involving telomerase in the development and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The review evaluates 9a) whether the assessment of telomerase can be used as a noninvasive diagnostic tool; and (b) whether modification of telomerase function might be a useful potential therapeutic target for treatment of NAFLD. Furthermore, the relationship between telomerase and other chronic metabolic diseases is evaluated.

Expert opinion: Several experimental and preclinical studies have suggested that telomerase plays an important role in the development of NAFLD. However, further mechanistic studies are needed to prove a causal relationship and to better elucidate whether the measurement of telomerase has utility as a diagnostic tool or whether pharmacological manipulation of telomerase has therapeutic potential in NAFLD treatment.

摘要

简介： 端粒酶是一种碱性核蛋白逆转录酶，在维持端粒稳定性、基因组完整性、长期细胞活性和潜在的持续增殖方面起着关键作用。

涵盖的领域：这篇叙述性评论讨论了涉及端粒酶在非酒精性脂肪性肝病 (NAFLD) 发展和进展中的关键研究进展。该评价评估了 9a) 端粒酶的评估是否可以用作无创诊断工具；(b) 端粒酶功能的修饰是否可能是治疗 NAFLD 的一个有用的潜在治疗靶点。此外，还评估了端粒酶与其他慢性代谢疾病之间的关系。

专家意见：多项实验和临床前研究表明端粒酶在 NAFLD 的发展中起着重要作用。然而，需要进一步的机制研究来证明因果关系并更好地阐明端粒酶的测量是否可用作诊断工具，或者端粒酶的药理学操作是否在 NAFLD 治疗中具有治疗潜力。