A Different Death

Liver diseases are a significant health concern, with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) estimated to affect around 30% of the global population, across multiple conditions associated with excess fat deposits. Necroptosis, a type of programmed cell death that activates the immune system and causes inflammation, was thought to be generally involved in liver disease, but recent evidence refutes this idea. In mice, disease triggers like viral infection, malarial parasites or high-fat diets still lead to liver disease, progressing as expected, even when the mice lack MLKL, a protein necessary for necroptosis; in the liver tissue pictured, collagen build-up (in red) reveals signs of NAFLD, without necroptosis. Scientists also found that another protein required for necroptosis, RIPK3, is silenced in the liver cells, of both mice and humans, suggesting this process cannot occur there. Together, these findings should shift the focus of research into the mechanisms behind liver disease.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

Emmanuelle Briolat

Writer

A researcher specialising in visual signals in Lepidoptera, camouflage and the effects of light pollution, Emmanuelle’s writing covers a range of topics, from biomedical research to children’s books about moth defences.

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• Image from work by Simon P. Preston and colleagues
• Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Gastroenterology, August 2022