Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the chronic liver disease with the highest incidence throughout the world, but its pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated. Ferroptosis is a novel form of programmed cell death caused by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. Abnormal iron metabolism, lipid peroxidation, and accumulation of polyunsaturated fatty acid phospholipids (PUFA-PLs) can all trigger ferroptosis. Emerging evidence indicates that ferroptosis plays a critical role in the pathological progression of NAFLD. Because the liver is the main organ for iron storage and lipid metabolism, ferroptosis is an ideal target for liver diseases. Inhibiting ferroptosis may become a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of NAFLD. In this article, we describe the role of ferroptosis in the progression of NAFLD and its related mechanisms. This review will highlight further directions for the treatment of NAFLD and the selection of corresponding drugs that target ferroptosis.

Patulin is one of the common food-borne mycotoxins. Previous studies have demonstrated that patulin can cause diverse toxic effects in animals including hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. In the present study, we have addressed the protective effect of two forms of selenium compounds methylseleninic acid (MSeA) and sodium selenite on patulin-induced nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity using both in vitro and in vivo models. Results showed that MSeA at concentrations of 3-5 μM, not sodium selenite at the same concentrations, is capable of protecting against patulin-induced cytotoxicity in the cell culture model. Moreover, the hepatoprotective and nephroprotective effects of MSeA (2 mg/kg body weight, oral administration) on patulin-induced toxicity (10 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneal injection) were also achieved in the animal model. A further mechanistic study revealed that the protective effect of MSeA on patulin-mediated toxicity is attributed to its ability to inhibit patulin-mediated ROS generation and inactivate p53 and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. Our findings support a possible usefulness of MSeA as a novel detoxicant to mitigate the toxicities of patulin.

Patulin is a major mycotoxin found in fungal contaminated fruits and their derivative products. Previous studies showed that patulin was able to induce increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and oxidative stress was suggested to play a pivotal role in patulin-induced multiple toxic signaling. The objective of the present study was to investigate the functional role of p53 in patulin-induced oxidative stress. Our study demonstrated that higher levels of ROS generation and DNA damage were induced in wild-type p53 cell lines than that found in either knockdown or knockout p53 cell lines in response to patulin exposure, suggesting p53 activation contributed to patulin-induced ROS generation. Mechanistically, we revealed that the pro-oxidant role of p53 in response to patulin was attributed to its ability to suppress catalase activity through up-regulation of PIG3. Moreover, these in vitro findings were further validated in the p53 wild-type/knockout mouse model. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report addressing the functional role of p53 in patulin-induced oxidative stress. The findings of the present study provided novel insights into understanding mechanisms behind oxidative stress in response to patulin exposure.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are energy-storage organelles that are coated with hundreds of proteins, including members of the perilipin (PLIN) family. PLIN5 is highly expressed in oxidative tissues, including the liver, and is thought to play a key role in uncoupling LD accumulation from lipotoxicity; however, the mechanisms behind this action are incompletely defined. We investigated the role of hepatic PLIN5 in inflammation and lipotoxicity in a murine model under both fasting and refeeding conditions and in hepatocyte cultures. PLIN5 ablation with antisense oligonucleotides triggered a pro-inflammatory response in livers from mice only under fasting conditions. Similarly, PLIN5 mitigated lipopolysaccharide- or palmitic acid-induced inflammatory responses in hepatocytes. During fasting, PLIN5 was also required for the induction of autophagy, which contributed to its anti-inflammatory effects. The ability of PLIN5 to promote autophagy and prevent inflammation were dependent upon signaling through sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), which is known to be activated in response to nuclear PLIN5 under fasting conditions. Taken together, these data show that PLIN5 signals via SIRT1 to promote autophagy and prevent FA-induced inflammation as a means to maintain hepatocyte homeostasis during periods of fasting and FA mobilization.