Adipocytokines and hepatic fibrosis

• Hepatic fibrosis, although reversible, can lead to cirrhosis if unchecked.
• Clinical therapy to prevent liver fibrosis progression is not available.
• Cirrhosis poses a significant increased risk for development of hepatocellular carcinoma.
• Measurements of key cytokines could be useful biomarkers of predicting NAFLD patients likely to have disease progression.

Obesity and metabolic syndrome pose significant risk for the progression of many types of chronic illness, including liver disease. Hormones released from adipocytes, adipocytokines, associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome, have been shown to control hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. Hepatic fibrosis is the final common pathway that can result in cirrhosis, and can ultimately require liver transplantation. Initially, two key adipocytokines, leptin and adiponectin, appeared to control many fundamental aspects of the cell and molecular biology related to hepatic fibrosis and its resolution. Leptin appears to act as a profibrogenic molecule, while adiponectin has strong-antifibrotic properties. In this review, we emphasize pertinent data associated with these and other recently discovered adipocytokines that may drive or halt the fibrogenic response in the liver.