©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 28, 2016; 22(36): 8112-8122
Published online Sep 28, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i36.8112
Published online Sep 28, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i36.8112
Iron and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Laurence J Britton, Darrell HG Crawford, Gallipoli Medical Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Greenslopes Private Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland 4120, Australia
Laurence J Britton, The Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland 4120, Australia
V Nathan Subramaniam, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4120, Australia
Author contributions: Britton LJ reviewed the literature and wrote the manuscript; Subramaniam VN and Crawford DHG reviewed the manuscript and made important changes to the content.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest.
Correspondence to: Dr. Laurence J Britton, Gallipoli Medical Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Greenslopes Private Hospital, Newdegate Street, Greenslopes, Brisbane, Queensland 4120, Australia. l.britton@uq.edu.au
Telephone: +61-7-33947284 Fax: +61-7-33947767
Received: March 28, 2016
Peer-review started: April 1, 2016
First decision: May 30, 2016
Revised: July 6, 2016
Accepted: August 5, 2016
Article in press: August 5, 2016
Published online: September 28, 2016
Processing time: 181 Days and 14.5 Hours
Peer-review started: April 1, 2016
First decision: May 30, 2016
Revised: July 6, 2016
Accepted: August 5, 2016
Article in press: August 5, 2016
Published online: September 28, 2016
Processing time: 181 Days and 14.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Iron represents a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). There are extensive data that link iron and disease pathogenesis in human studies as well as animal and cell culture models. Studies have predominantly focussed on the role of hepatic iron, although recently adipose tissue has emerged as a site at which iron may promote insulin resistance. In this review, we summarize the human and basic science data that have evaluated the role of iron in NAFLD pathogenesis.