Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 as a common molecular driver in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and chronic immune-mediated liver damage.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are functional molecules that orchestrate gene expression. To identify lncRNAs involved in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) severity, we performed a multiscale study that included: (a) systems biology modeling that indicated metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 () as a candidate lncRNA for exploring disease-related associations, (b) translational exploration in the clinical setting, and (c) mechanistic modeling. liver profiling was performed in three consecutive phases, including an exploratory stage (liver samples from patients with NAFLD who were morbidly obese [n = 47] and from 13 individuals with normal liver histology); a replication stage (patients with NAFLD and metabolic syndrome [n =49]); and a hypothesis-driven stage (patients with chronic hepatitis C and autoimmune liver diseases, [n = 65]).