Genetic predisposition of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a population-based genome-wide...

Although metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has been proposed to replace the diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with new diagnostic criteria since 2023, the genetic predisposition of MASLD remains to be explored.

Participants with data of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in the Taiwan Biobank database were collected. Patients with missing data, positive for HBsAg, anti-HCV, and alcohol drinking history were excluded. MASLD was defined if having hepatic steatosis on ultrasound, plus at least one of cardiometabolic criteria. The Taiwan biobank used two genetic chips during the period of data collection: Taiwan biobank version 1 (TWBv1) as the initial chip and TWBv2 specifically designed for the Taiwanese population. TWBv2 was used as test group and TWBv1 as validation group. NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) was used to assess the degree of liver fibrosis, and carotid plaques on duplex ultrasound were employed for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis.

In a total of 16,407 (mean age 55.35 ± 10.41; 29.6% males) participants, 6722 (41.0%) had MASLD. Eleven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were identified to be associated with MASLD. Their functions were exonic in two and intronic in nine. They were related to the PNALA3, and SAMM50 genes located on chromosome 22. The linkage disequilibrium showed a high correlation with each other. Four SNPs of PNALA3 and SAMM50 genes had increased risk of MASLD and higher levels of AST/ALT. In addition, there was no association of these two genes with glucose metabolism, but better lipid profiles in SAMM50.

This large GWAS study indicates that eleven SNPs of PNPLA3 and SAMM50 genes predispose the development of MASLD in Taiwanese population.