Science Sub-Journal: 3D imaging reveals the "vicious circle" in fatty liver

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden used a new type of three-dimensional imaging technology to study non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and found that a part of the autonomic nervous system in the liver was severely degraded

The results, published in the journal Science Advances on July 21, show that there is an association between neurodegeneration and the severity of liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a common liver disease

In this study, researchers tried to use iDISCO volume imaging and light sheet microscopy to explore the nervous system at various stages of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Csaba Adori, the person in charge of the study, said: “Now we know that nerves in the liver have a variety of subtle regulatory effects

According to this study, changes in liver innervation have already occurred in the early stages of fatty liver

In experimental steatohepatitis, three-dimensional imaging showed that the portal vein was severely contracted, which was spatially related to the extension of the remaining nerves around the portal vein, revealing the underlying intrahepatic neuronal mechanism of portal hypertension

The research team hopes that the results of this study will open up new methods for fatty liver treatment, targeting the liver sympathetic nervous system to treat steatohepatitis and portal hypertension

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Csaba Adori, Teresa Daraio, et al.