1184-Decoding Regulatory Networks in Metabolic Liver Disease

Paper Talk · Jun 25, 2026 · 22m

This study investigates how noncoding genetic variations contribute to Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) by mapping the regulatory landscape of liver cells. Researchers utilized single-nucleus chromatin accessibility profiling to demonstrate that disease-linked variants are specifically enriched in the regulatory regions of hepatocytes and stellate cells. Through massively parallel reporter assays (MPRA), they identified hundreds of differential activity variants (DAVs) that alter gene expression based on specific cell types and environmental stressors. These…