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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Feb 27, 2022; 14(2): 304-318
Published online Feb 27, 2022. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v14.i2.304
Rodent models and metabolomics in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: What can we learn?
Maria Martin-Grau, Vannina G Marrachelli, Daniel Monleon
Maria Martin-Grau, Daniel Monleon, Department of Pathology, University of Valencia, Valencia 46010, Spain
Vannina G Marrachelli, Department of Physiology, University of Valencia, Valencia 46010, Spain
Vannina G Marrachelli, Daniel Monleon, Health Research Institute INCLIVA, Valencia 46010, Spain
Daniel Monleon, CIBER de Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (CIBERfes), Madrid 28029, Spain
Author contributions: Martin-Grau M performed the majority of the writing, and the figure and tables; Marrachelli VG and Monleon D provided the input in writing the paper; Monleon D designed the outline and coordinated the writing of the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors have nothing to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Daniel Monleon, PhD, Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Valencia, Avda Blasco Ibañez 15, Valencia 46010, Spain. daniel.monleon@uv.es
Received: February 25, 2021
Peer-review started: February 25, 2021
First decision: March 29, 2021
Revised: April 13, 2021
Accepted: January 29, 2022
Article in press: January 29, 2022
Published online: February 27, 2022
Processing time: 361 Days and 22 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a spectrum of different diseases that starts with asymptomatic steatosis, continues with steatohepatitis, and can progress to fibrosis. Current knowledge suggests that NAFLD initiates and progresses through most of nine hallmarks. Animal models remain crucial for understanding the disease and for developing tools based on biological knowledge. Metabolomics seems a valid tool for studying metabolic pathways and organ crosstalk in NAFLD. In this review, we provide a brief introduction to NAFLD hallmarks, the five groups of animal models available for studying NAFLD and the potential role of metabolomics in the study of experimental NAFLD.