Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40434633›Full record

ArticleHepatology communications2025

A comprehensive evaluation of candidate genetic polymorphisms in a large histologically characterized MASLD cohort using a novel framework.

Aaron Hakim, Kung-Hung Lin, Tae-Hwi Schwantes-An, Marco Abreu, Jingyi Tan, Xiuqing Guo, Katherine P Yates, Luca Lotta, Niek Verweij, Rohit Loomba and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Hepatology communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Age-Specific Associations of Polygenic Risk Scores With Advanced Fibrosis and Histological Activity in Biopsy-Proven MASLD.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Aaron HakimDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9752-8826
Kung-Hung LinDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Tae-Hwi Schwantes-AnDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Marco AbreuDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Jingyi TanDepartment of Pediatrics, The Institute for Translational Genomics and Population Sciences, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California, USA.
Xiuqing GuoDepartment of Pediatrics, The Institute for Translational Genomics and Population Sciences, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California, USA.
Katherine P YatesDepartment of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Luca LottaRegeneron Genetics Center, Tarrytown, New York, USA.
Niek VerweijRegeneron Genetics Center, Tarrytown, New York, USA.
Rohit LoombaDepartment of Family Medicine and Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, University of California at San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
David E KleinerLaboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Jeffrey B SchwimmerDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California, USA.
Jerome I RotterDepartment of Pediatrics, The Institute for Translational Genomics and Population Sciences, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California, USA.
Naga P ChalasaniDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

Funding

UCLA Clinical Translational Science InstituteUL1TR001881 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI ARLEEN F. BROWN, ARASH NAEIM · 2016 to 2026
$118.1M
Transgenic & Knock-out MouseP30DK063491 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI Andrea L Hevener · 2003 to 2026
$40.4M
Continuation of the Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network (NASHU01DK061730 · NIDDK · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI TONASCIA, JAMES A · 2002 to 2018
$23.2M
Non Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research NetworkU01DK061732 · NIDDK · CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU · PI Srinivasan Dasarathy · 2002 to 2026
$12.2M
VEDS Year2-Continuation of the Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network (NASH CRN) Data Coordinating CenterU24DK061730 · NIDDK · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI JEANNE M CLARK, David M Shade · 2019 to 2026
$11.3M
Collaborative Clinical Research on Non Alcoholic StratohepatitisU01DK061737 · NIDDK · INDIANA UNIV-PURDUE UNIV AT INDIANAPOLIS · PI NAGA P CHALASANI · 2002 to 2026
$10.2M
CHARGE Consortium: Omics Discovery for CVD and Aging PhenotypesR01HL105756 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI Bruce M Psaty, NICHOLAS L SMITH · 2011 to 2026
$9.5M
Indiana Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UL1)UL1TR000006 · NCATS · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · PI SHEKHAR, ANANTHA · 2012 to 2013
$5.6M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR000006NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001881NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL105756NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK063491NIDDK NIH HHS U01 DK061730NIDDK NIH HHS U01 DK061732NIDDK NIH HHS U01 DK061737NIDDK NIH HHS U24 DK061730
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is a substantial heritable component to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), and several genetic variants that promote MASLD development or associate with its severity have been reported. These associations vary in terms of their effect size and degree of replication.

methodsWe developed a framework to classify previously identified MASLD genetic polymorphisms into 4 tiers based on effect size and extent of replication in the literature. We tested the association between "tier 1" single-nucleotide polymorphisms (OR ≥1.5, replicated in >2 independent studies) and biopsy measures of MASLD severity in a large, well-characterized histologic cohort of MASLD patients (n=3094).

resultsAcross 19 "tier 1" variants reflecting 11 genetic loci, only those in the PNPLA3-SAMM50-PARVB locus showed significant associations with biopsy-proven fibrosis severity and NAFLD activity score; the highest risk was for the rs738409 p.I148M variant in PNPLA3. A genetic risk score based on "tier 1" variants, as well as a previously developed genetic risk score based on variants in PNPLA3, TM6SF2, and HSD17B13, were both associated with fibrosis and NAFLD activity score, but these results were driven entirely by PNPLA3 rs738409.

conclusionsOur study provides a framework to prioritize evaluation of genetic polymorphisms for future replication efforts and demonstrates that in a large case-only cohort, histologic severity of MASLD is only robustly associated with the presence of variation in PNPLA3 among known candidate genes. These findings may have implications for patient risk stratification based on the presence of PNPLA3 rs738409.

Indexed as

Fatty LiverPolymorphism, Single NucleotideAcyltransferasesAdultAgedBiopsyCohort StudiesFemaleGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseHumansLipaseMaleMembrane ProteinsMiddle AgedPhospholipases A2, Calcium-IndependentSeverity of Illness IndexAcyltransferasesLipaseMembrane ProteinsPhospholipases A2, Calcium-IndependentPNPLA3 protein, humanfibrosisgeneticsGWASsteatohepatitissteatotic liver disease

Identifiers

PMID40434633
PMCPMC12122170

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.