Diabetes & Metabolism Journal

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Basic and Translational Research
Metabolic Sparks in the Liver: Metabolic and Epigenetic Reprogramming in Hepatic Stellate Cells Activation and Its Implications for Human Metabolic Diseases: Yeon Jin Roh, Hyeonki Kim, Dong Wook Choi; Diabetes Metab J. 2025;49(3):368-385. Published online May 1, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4093/dmj.2025.0195

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The liver plays a fundamental role in metabolic homeostasis, integrating systemic fuel utilization with the progression of various metabolic diseases. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are a key nonparenchymal cell type in the liver, which is essential for maintaining hepatic architecture in their quiescent state. However, upon chronic liver injury or metabolic stress, HSCs become activated, leading to excessive extracellular matrix deposition and pro-fibrotic signaling, ultimately positioning them as key players in liver pathology. Emerging evidence highlights the critical roles of metabolic reprogramming and epigenetic regulation in HSCs activation. HSCs activation is driven by both intrinsic fuel metabolism reprogramming and extrinsic metabolic cues from the microenvironment, while the metabolic intermediates actively reshape the epigenetic landscape, reinforcing fibrogenic transcriptional programs. In this review, we summarize recent advances in understanding how metabolic and epigenetic alterations drive HSCs activation, thereby shaping transcriptional programs that sustain fibrosis, and discuss potential therapeutic strategies to target these interconnected pathways in human metabolic diseases.

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Metabolic Risk/Epidemiology
Hepatic Fibrosis and Cancer: The Silent Threats of Metabolic Syndrome: Scott L. Friedman; Diabetes Metab J. 2024;48(2):161-169. Published online January 26, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4093/dmj.2023.0240

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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic (fatty) liver disease (MASLD), previously termed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, is a worldwide epidemic that can lead to hepatic inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The disease is typically a component of the metabolic syndrome that accompanies obesity, and is often overlooked because the liver manifestations are clinically silent until late-stage disease is present (i.e., cirrhosis). Moreover, Asian populations, including Koreans, have a higher fraction of patients who are lean, yet their illness has the same prognosis or worse than those who are obese. Nonetheless, ongoing injury can lead to hepatic inflammation and ballooning of hepatocytes as classic features. Over time, fibrosis develops following activation of hepatic stellate cells, the liver’s main fibrogenic cell type. The disease is usually more advanced in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, indicating that all diabetic patients should be screened for liver disease. Although there has been substantial progress in clarifying pathways of injury and fibrosis, there no approved therapies yet, but current research seeks to uncover the pathways driving hepatic inflammation and fibrosis, in hopes of identifying new therapeutic targets. Emerging molecular methods, especially single cell sequencing technologies, are revolutionizing our ability to clarify mechanisms underlying MASLD-associated fibrosis and HCC.

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Yeon Jin Roh, Hyeonki Kim, Dong Wook Choi
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