Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 28, 2026; 32(16): 116142
Published online Apr 28, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i16.116142
Published online Apr 28, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i16.116142
Relation between cortisol and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: A dog chasing its tail
Cesare Morgante, Department of Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome 00168, Lazio, Italy
Cesare Morgante, Valentina Guarnotta, Giorgio Arnaldi, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Section of Endocrinology, University of Palermo, Palermo 90127, Sicilia, Italy
Calogero Camma, Salvatore Petta, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of PROMISE, University of Palermo, Palermo 90127, Sicilia, Italy
Author contributions: Morgante C, Camma C, and Arnaldi G conceptualized the work; Morgante C, Petta S, Camma C, and Arnaldi G searched the literature; Morgante C wrote the first draft; Camma C, Petta S, Guarnotta V, and Arnaldi G supervised and revised the work. All authors approved the final version to publish.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Giorgio Arnaldi, Full Professor, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Section of Endocrinology, University of Palermo, Piazza delle Cliniche 2, Palermo 90127, Sicilia, Italy.
Received: November 4, 2025
Revised: December 21, 2025
Accepted: March 3, 2026
Published online: April 28, 2026
Processing time: 164 Days and 18.4 Hours
Revised: December 21, 2025
Accepted: March 3, 2026
Published online: April 28, 2026
Processing time: 164 Days and 18.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Hypercortisolism and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease share multiple comorbidities, with a higher prevalence in Cushing’s syndrome, indicating that cortisol contributes to liver pathogenesis. As a key target and major metabolic site of cortisol, the liver is integral to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. This minireview summarizes their association, underlying molecular pathways, and cortisol metabolites as potential liver biomarkers.