Hyun Ahm Sohn, Hanyong Go, Tae Hyeon An, Jun Min Lee, Hee-Jin Kim, Keeok Haam, Amal Magdy, Hyo-Jung Jung, Yang-Ji Shin, Hyun Jung Lim, Yujin Jeong, Yejin Bae, Youngae Jung, Seong-Hwan Park, Kyung Chan Park, Myeong Jun Song, Eun-Wie Cho, Eun-Soo Kwon, Jeong Hwan Park, Murim Choi, Geum-Sook Hwang, Dong Hyeon Lee, Stefano Romeo, Kyoung-Jin Oh, Won Kim, Mirang Kim
Received September 25, 2025 Accepted January 23, 2026 Published online January 27, 2026
Background/Aims Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide. Aberrant DNA methylation, which is primarily maintained by DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), has been linked to metabolic dysregulation; however, its contribution to MASLD pathogenesis remains poorly defined. This study aimed to elucidate the role of DNMT1-mediated methylation in transcriptional regulation during MASLD progression and to determine whether DNMT1 inhibition can reverse disease-associated epigenetic and transcriptional alterations.
Methods We conducted integrated analyses of the liver transcriptome (n = 131) and DNA methylome (n = 106) of patients with biopsy-proven MASLD. We evaluated the effect of DNMT1 inhibition with 5-aza-4′-thio-2′-deoxycytidine (Aza-TdC) on a diet-induced MASLD mouse model. Multiomics approaches, including DNA methylome profiling, lipidomics, bulk and single-nucleus RNA sequencing, and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing, were applied to elucidate the role of DNMT1-mediated DNA methylation in regulating pathogenic gene expression.
Results DNA methylome profiling revealed increased methylation variability associated with increased DNMT1 expression in MASLD patients. DNMT1 inhibition ameliorated dysregulated lipid metabolism by reducing hepatic triacylglycerol accumulation and inflammation. Aza-TdC treatment partially reversed MASLD-related hypermethylation of hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4α)- and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα)-regulated genes, restoring their transcriptional activity. Notably, Aza-TdC reactivated the gluconeogenic enzyme-encoding gene phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 (PCK1), which was hypermethylated and transcriptionally repressed in MASLD. Targeted DNA methylation of the PCK1 promoter using CRISPRoff confirmed the direct epigenetic regulation of PCK1 expression.
Conclusions Targeting DNMT1 may mitigate lipid dysregulation and inflammation by reversing hypermethylation and restoring HNF4α- and PPARα-dependent gene transcription, highlighting DNMT1 as a potential therapeutic target for MASLD.
Le Bich Hang Pham, Taeeung Kim, Seoyoung Kim, Yun Seok Kim, Jiyeon Kim, Kyeongseon Kim, Hyeonwoo Lim, Wan Seob Shim, Byoungmo Kim, So-Yeol Yoo, Jae-Young Lee, Murim Choi, Won Kim, Keon Wook Kang, Jeeyeon Lee
Clin Mol Hepatol 2026;32(1):318-338. Published online November 17, 2025
Background/Aims Ferroptosis, recently emerged as a new cell death modality characterized by iron-dependent peroxidation of lipids, has been explored in various diseases. However, detection of ferroptosis, particularly in chronic liver disease models, is hampered by the lack of universal ferroptosis markers and limited number of fluorescence sensors for in vivo ferroptosis.
Methods In this study, we developed TTM-4 as a highly sensitive near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe to detect ferroptosis.
Results TTM-4 exhibited turn-on fluorescence upon viscosity change, enabling visualization of lipid peroxidation (LPO) in ferroptotic hepatocytes and liver tissue samples with greater sensitivity than BODIPY 581/591 C11. Timelapse live-cell imaging of erastin-treated cells revealed real-time LPO dynamics involving cytosolic lipid droplets (cLDs), endoplasmic reticulum, and nuclear LDs in a chronological order. Further gene expression analysis of 216 liver tissue samples from the NCBI GEO database showed a significant increase in CIDEC concurrent with TTM-4 fluorescence during progression to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic hepatitis (MASH). TTM-4, with its low toxicity and turn-on NIR emission during ferroptosis, also enabled in vivo visualization of ferroptosis in liver injury and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) models.
Conclusions Our findings suggest that TTM-4 enables monitoring of ferroptosis in MASLD and would aid in early MASH diagnosis.
Amal Magdy, Hee-Jin Kim, Hanyong Go, Jun Min Lee, Hyun Ahm Sohn, Keeok Haam, Hyo-Jung Jung, Jong-Lyul Park, Taekyeong Yoo, Eun-Soo Kwon, Dong Hyeon Lee, Murim Choi, Keon Wook Kang, Won Kim, Mirang Kim, on behalf of the Innovative Target Exploration of NAFLD (ITEN) Consortium
Clin Mol Hepatol 2024;30(4):824-844. Published online July 25, 2024
Background/Aims Blocking the complement system is a promising strategy to impede the progression of metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). However, the interplay between complement and MASLD remains to be elucidated. This comprehensive approach aimed to investigate the potential association between complement dysregulation and the histological severity of MASLD.
Methods Liver biopsy specimens were procured from a cohort comprising 106 Korean individuals, which included 31 controls, 17 with isolated steatosis, and 58 with metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Utilizing the Infinium Methylation EPIC array, thorough analysis of methylation alterations in 61 complement genes was conducted. The expression and methylation of nine complement genes in a murine MASH model were examined using quantitative RT-PCR and pyrosequencing.
Results Methylome and transcriptome analyses of liver biopsies revealed significant (P<0.05) hypermethylation and downregulation of C1R, C1S, C3, C6, C4BPA, and SERPING1, as well as hypomethylation (P<0.0005) and upregulation (P<0.05) of C5AR1, C7, and CD59, in association with the histological severity of MASLD. Furthermore, DNA methylation and the relative expression of nine complement genes in a MASH diet mouse model aligned with human data.
Conclusions Our research provides compelling evidence that epigenetic alterations in complement genes correlate with MASLD severity, offering valuable insights into the mechanisms driving MASLD progression, and suggests that inhibiting the function of certain complement proteins may be a promising strategy for managing MASLD.
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