The present study reveals that lipotoxicity causes defective mitophagy and excessive mitochondrial reactive oxygen species accumulation. In turn, both events trigger NLRP3 inflammasome activation in fatty acid-overloaded primary hepatocytes. The novel insight advances the understanding of how fatty acids elicit lipotoxicity through oxidant stress and autophagy in mitochondria during progression from nonalcoholic fatty liver to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
- Ning-Ping Zhang
- Xue-Jing Liu
- Jian Wu
