How effective are nonalcoholic fatty liver disease models for drug discovery?

Area of Science:

• Hepatology and drug discovery
• Preclinical and translational research

Background:

• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) spectrum includes simple steatosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
• NAFLD is a global health issue with no current effective therapeutic strategies.
• Preclinical models have identified numerous drug targets for NAFLD.

Discussion:

• Recent clinical trials highlight a lack of translatability from preclinical models to human efficacy.
• This editorial critically evaluates various NAFLD mouse models.
• Emerging ex vivo and in vitro models used in drug discovery are also discussed.

Key Insights:

• Effective preclinical research is crucial due to translatability issues in NAFLD drug development.
• A comprehensive understanding of different NAFLD models is essential for advancing therapeutic strategies.
• Translational challenges must be addressed for successful NAFLD drug development.

Outlook:

• Future research should focus on improving the predictive validity of preclinical NAFLD models.
• Developing more translatable models is key to overcoming current therapeutic limitations.
• Continued investigation into ex vivo and in vitro systems may offer novel drug discovery avenues.