Grant: Project Grant

About a quarter of the adult population is affected by non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This increases their risk of developing liver cancer and other diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases or of requiring liver transplant. There are currently no drugs available to prevent or treat the consequences of NAFLD. Developing new and safe drugs for NAFLD requires a better knowledge of the reasons why some individuals develop NAFLD while others do not. Genetic studies have been very useful to identify new biological determinants of other chronic disease and small genetic studies have shed some light on the biology of NAFLD. But we need better studies and larger studies to identify new and safe therapeutic targets for NAFLD. We have at our institution one of the biggest liver biobank in Canada if not the world. By studying the genetic architecture of gene and protein expression in the liver of this biobank and by combining this data with that of over 700,000 individuals from the U.S. and Europe who have participated to the largest genetic study of NAFLD we strongly believe that we will identify new genes and proteins that may cause NAFLD. This new genetic study will provide us with valuable information on the specific biological pathways that could be targeted to prevent or treat NAFLD. In fact, these new genes and proteins may even represent new therapeutic targets for NAFLD. Because we have standardised histopathological reports, we will also be able to determine how the over- or under-expression of these genes cause NAFLD. By using genetics, we can also study the impact of these genes on over 800 human diseases. This will help us determine the function of these genes. This study can also help us determine of targeting these genes could ultimately increase the risk of other diseases. Altogether, with this project, our team will aim at improving our knowledge of NAFLD and at finding new and safe drugs to help patients living with NAFLD.