Causes and Treatments of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Identified

GIST Research Team Identifies Influential Protein
Inhibition Enables Possible Treatment

The research team led by Professor Oh Chang-myung of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) announced on the 25th that they have discovered a protein affecting non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and proposed a method to treat NAFLD by inhibiting this protein.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a metabolic disorder that is increasing worldwide along with obesity and diabetes, but effective treatments have not yet been developed, requiring extensive research. The research team found that inhibiting a protein called lymphocyte antigen 6D (LY6D) could potentially prevent and treat NAFLD. Through experiments on mice, they demonstrated that this protein influences lipid metabolism and inflammatory responses in the liver. LY6D is a protein located in the extracellular region and plasma membrane, predicted to be a marker of early lymphocyte development stages, but its exact function and role remain unknown.

The team discovered that this protein increases in mice fed a high-sugar diet, and when highly expressed, it causes severe fat accumulation. Analysis of the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project database confirmed that people with high expression of this protein in the liver exhibit more severe histological changes related to fatty liver disease.

When the researchers overexpressed the gene for this protein by more than 100 times, genes related to high-fat intake and lipid metabolism were expressed more than in the control group. Conversely, inhibiting this protein in mice with NAFLD led to symptom improvement.

Professor Oh Chang-myung explained, “Through this research achievement, we have identified a new therapeutic target for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. By inhibiting this protein to regulate lipid metabolism and suppress inflammation in the liver, new treatment possibilities are expected to open.”

The research results were published on June 3 in the international journal Experimental & Molecular Medicine.

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