Recent Advances in Understanding of NASH: MicroRNAs as Both Biochemical Markers and Players

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatis (NASH) are becoming the dominant liver diseases in the US and Western World. Extensive work is being done to diagnose, understand, and explore the pathogenesis of these multivariable complex diseases. Recently a new avenue of biologic regulation is being explored. MicroRNAs are non-coding RNAs that modulate the expression of multiple genes and have been implicated in multiple diseases. Recently there is a growing body of evidence supporting a significant role of microRNAs in NAFLD pathogenesis and progression to NASH, and hinting at their use as targets, biomarkers and potential therapeutic tools. This review is designed to highlight some of the recent work on a few of the key microRNAs involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD and NASH.