Regulation of Iron Metabolism in NAFLD/NASH

Abstract

The disturbance of iron metabolism is one of the characteristic features of NAFLD/NASH, and complicated Type2DM, however, as for the mechanisms of the iron deposition observed in the liver of NAFLD/NASH, as well as the correlation between iron metabolism and insulin resistance, the precise pathophysiology and dynamics are still uncertain. In addition, numerous factors might be involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD/NASH and wide-ranged analysis, as well as multi-targeted treatment, should be considered and challenged for the improvement of the prognosis of NAFLD/NASH. In many NAFLD/NASH cases, a remarkable decline of serum ferritin, as well as the improvement of T2DM, were observed after treatment with Laennec (placenta-derived drug) in accordance with the improvement of the liver dysfunction and histopathological amelioration in the liver. In recent years, it was shown that hepcidin, the principal regulator of iron metabolism exists in human placenta in high concentrations. Then, we examined whether Laennec can restore the pathological background by regulating iron and glucose metabolism in NAFLD/NASH by the action of a “hepcidin inducer”.