Epigenetic Modification Of Liver Mitochondrial Dna Is Associated With Histological Severity Of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

CARLOS J. PIROLA; T FERNÁNDEZ GIANOTTI; AL BURGUEÑO; MANUEL REY-FUNES; CESAR FABIAN LOIDL; PABLO MALLARDI; JULIO SAN MARTINO; GUSTAVO O CASTAÑO ; SILVIA C. SOOKOIAN

GUT - AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEOROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY

B M J PUBLISHING GROUP

Lugar: Londres 62(9):1356-63-2013; Año: 2013 vol. 62 p. 1356 - 1363

0017-5749

Objective & Design: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinical condition that refers to progressive histological changes ranging from simple steatosis (SS) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We evaluated the status of cytosine methylation (5mC) of liver mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in selected regions of the mtDNA genome, such as D-loop control region, and mitochondrially encoded NADH dehydrogenase 6 (MT-ND6) and cytochrome C oxidase I (MT-CO1), to contrast the hypothesis that epigenetic modifications play a role in the phenotypic switching from SS to NASH. Methods: we studied liver biopsies obtained from patients with NAFLD in a case-control design; 45 patients and 18 controls. Results: MT-ND6 methylation was higher in the liver of NASH than SS patients (p