Emerging Roles for Lipids in the Hepatic Innate Immune Response

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease represents a growing clinical problem worldwide [1,2]. Recent studies in a European population demonstrated NAFLD in 94% of patients with a BMI exceeding 30 kg/m2 and perhaps more troubling in 25% of patients with a normal BMI (<25). Clear complications are associated with excess hepatic lipid accumulation from stimulation of marked inflammation to more severe tissue scarring and hepatocellular cancer development [3]. Given this strong connection between lipids and liver tissue pathologies and the importance of hepatic immune cell populations to both the promotion as well as potentially protection from these disease processes, a greater understanding of the impact of lipid on hepatic immune cell function is absolutely necessary to define new therapeutic approaches. The following section will highlight some new data defining the potential interactions among lipids and lipid derivatives and immune cell biology.