Superfund Research Program
November 2018 NIEHS grantees discovered that a protein-cleaving enzyme known as caspase-2 is a major driver of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is the most aggressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). They reported that caspase-2 controls the buildup of cholesterol and triglycerides in liver tissue by activating sterol regulatory element binding proteins, the master regulators of fatty tissue formation in the liver. [Full Text]