Iron metabolism and ferroptosis in Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: what is our next step?

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease with increasing prevalence worldwide. NAFLD could develop from simple hepatic steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) causing fibrosis, cirrhosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the mechanism of NAFLD development was still not be fully defined. Recently, there are emerging evidence showing the dysregulated iron metabolism with elevated serum ferritin and ferroptosis are involved in the NAFLD. The iron metabolism and ferroptosis would shed some light on the mechanisms of NAFLD development. Here, we summarized the studies concerning iron metabolism and ferroptosis process involving in NAFLD development to highlight the potential medicament and therapies in treating NAFLD.