Cholesterol regulatory genes predict liver transplant outcomes
Liver transplantation, or LT, is a life-saving therapy for patients with end-stage liver disease. End-stage liver disease develops from chronic liver diseases like metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, which is an advanced form of MASLD.
Recent organ donation statistics show that 10,659 liver transplants were performed in 2023, and the 1-year and 5-year survival rates after LT are 85% and 75%, respectively. Because MASLD affects roughly one-quarter of the general population and MASH is the second leading cause of LT in the US, screening organ donors for these conditions before transplant is essential to ensure patient safety and outcomes.
In a recent study published in the Journal of Lipid Research, Anna Baulies, Carmen García-Ruiz and a team of researchers in Spain investigated lipid content and expression of cholesterol metabolic genes in liver grafts, healthy tissue used for transplant, before and after the procedure, to predict patient survival and health outcomes. They collected liver biopsy samples from patients undergoing LT and found that increased free cholesterol and free fatty acid levels, as well as increased expression of the cholesterol regulatory genes SREBF2 and HMGCR in liver grafts prior to transplant, increased the risk of early allograft dysfunction, graft loss and in some cases, even death after transplant.
The correlation between cholesterol regulatory genes and LT-related mortality can inform donor screening for chronic liver disease, ensuring that healthier donor organs are selected to increase transplant success and, in turn, improve outcomes for patients receiving life-saving livers.
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in Science
Science highlights or most popular articles
How smelling death alters worm behavior
Researchers have found that the roundworm C. elegans can smell death, and it changes how the worms behave, reproduce and age.
A chance encounter with the lab
Payton Stevens never planned to become a pancreatic cancer researcher. A temporary job set him on a path from rural Kentucky to leading research on Wnt signaling and metastasis, where he now pairs discovery with mentorship and science advocacy.
Light-activated small molecule could transform eye infection treatment
Contact lenses raise the risk of infectious keratitis, a leading cause of blindness worldwide. A biotech company is commercializing a light-activated therapy using a ROS-generating molecule to rapidly kill microbes in the cornea to preserve vision.
The molecular orchestra of memory
Calcium, calmodulin and calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II form a molecular axis that turns fleeting neural activity into lasting memories. New research shows how memories are stabilized, and possibly even protected or repaired.
Differences in pili structure modulate bacterial behavior
Researchers demonstrate how small changes in the structure of hair-like protein appendages can affect the behavior of Acinetobacter bacteria.
Lipid signatures for a rare neurological disorder
Researchers find distinct lipid patterns linked to a rare autoimmune neurological disorder, offering hope for effective targeted therapies for patients.