Table 1.
Summary of main liver lipidomics studies in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
| Ref. | Tissue | Main findings in NAFLD patients compared to healthy controls | Main findings in NASH patients compared to NAFL patients |
| Puri et al[11], 2007 | Liver | Increased: DAG, TAG, total SFA, total PUFA; stepwise increase in the mean TAG/DAG ratio, FC/PC ratio and hepatic FC from normal livers to NAFL to NASH. Decreased: Total PC in both NAFL and NASH; AA in FFA, TAG, and PC in NASH; EPA and DHA in TAG in NASH. | The n-6:n-3 FFA ratio increased in NASH |
| Araya et al[10], 2004 | Liver, adipose tissue (fatty acid composition) | Increased: n-6:n-3 ratio, n-6 LCPUFA in liver phospholipids, total MUFA. Decreased: Long-chain PUFA of the n-6 and n-3 series in liver TAG, AA/LA ratio, EPA + DHA)/ALA in liver TAG, n-3 LCPUFA in phospholipids, total PUFA, n-3 PUFA, n-6 PUFA, AA, EPA, DHA. | The n-6:n-3 ratio increased in NASH |
| Allard et al[23], 2008 | Liver, red blood cells (fatty acid composition) | Increased: MUFAs, palmitoleic acid (16:1 n9), and oleic acid (18:1 n9) in NASH compared to control group. Decreased: Total n-3 PUFA, long-chain n-3 (EPA + DHA) and long-chain n - 6 (AA) PUFA in NASH compared to control; RBC-FA composition similar among the three groups. | Decreased: Total n- 6-PUFA in NASH compared to NAFL |
| Chiappini et al[24], 2017 | Liver | Increased: C14:0, C16:0, C16:1n-7, C18:1n-7, C18:1n-9, and C18:2n-6 in NASH. Decreased: Total SM, PI, PS, PE, PC in NASH. | Lipid signature of NASH (32 lipids). Decreased: AA, EPA, and DHA; total Cer. |
NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NAFL: Nonalcoholic fatty liver; NASH: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; DAG: Diacylglycerol; TAG: Triacylglycerol; SFA: Saturated Fatty acids; PUFA: Polyunsaturated fatty acids; FC: Free cholesterol; PC: Phosphatidylcholine; FFA : Free fatty acids; LCPUFA: Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid; MUFA: Monounsaturated fatty acid; RBC-FA: Red blood cell-fatty acids; SM: Sphingomyelin; PI: Phosphatidylinositol; PS: Phosphatidylserine; PE: Phosphatidylethanolamine; EPA: Eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5n-3); DHA: Docosahexanoic acid (C22:6n-3); AA: Arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6); LA: Linoleic acid (C18:2n-6); ALA: α-linolenic acid (C18:3n-3); Cer: Ceramides.