Scientists from UNC Greensboro have a new publication in the prestigious journal Gut on the role of the ATF4 gene in alcoholic liver disease.
The ATF4 gene is activated in mice liver cells in response to chronic alcohol exposure. In their new study, the researchers linked that gene activation to a form of mitochondrial dysfunction that contributes to alcohol-induced liver injury.
Their findings suggest that targeting the ATF4 gene – and the pathway of mitochondrial activity it affects – might one day help prevent or treat alcoholic liver disease.