[997]MASLD/MASH and insulin resistance

Our laboratory focuses mainly on the link between insulin resistance, a major feature of type 2 diabetes and obesity, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)/metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). The topic is particularly important because the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is constantly increasing and could affect 600 million people worldwide in the next decade. MASLD is now the most common chronic liver disease in the world, affecting nearly a quarter of the general population and up to 70% of people with type 2 diabetes. Going unnoticed for a long time, MASLD can lead to complications such as liver fibrosis, portal hypertension, cirrhosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer). It is therefore essential to identify patients with MASLD/MASH early, to determine which patients are likely to have an unfavorable progression and to find therapeutic targets to prevent and cure MASLD/MASH. With this in mind, our laboratory carries out translational research, starting from the deepening of fundamental knowledge through the use of cell culture and rodent models, to arrive at new applications beneficial to patients. The therapeutic targets most investigated within the laboratory concern the signaling pathways of FGF21, GLP-1 receptor agonists and cytokines of the interleukin-1 family. Our research also focuses on the role of the intestinal microbiota and the enterohepatic axis in the occurrence and progression of MASLD/MASH.