ArticleMolecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.)2025
L-Phenylalanine promotes liver steatosis by inhibiting BNIP3-mediated mitophagy.
Article in Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Cardiometabolic Factor-Specific Metabolic Signatures in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: Insights from Non-Targeted Metabolomics.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mitophagy in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease: Mechanisms, Regulatory Networks, and Therapeutic Perspectives.Inflammation · 2026Review
- Polystyrene microplastics and hepatic fibrosis-related indices in type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional analysis with experimental validation.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2026Article
- Relevance and Safe Utilization of Amino Acids in Supplements for Human Nutrition: Lessons from Clinical and Preclinical Studies.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Phenylalanine homeostasis in metabolic disorders: epidemiological trends, pathophysiological mechanisms, and clinical treatment.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundL-Phenylalanine (L-Phe) levels are elevated in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). However, whether L-Phe induces liver steatosis and the underlying mechanism remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism through which L-Phe promotes liver steatosis.
methodsWe utilized human data from the UK Biobank and SPECT-China studies. Plasma/serum samples were collected for metabolomic testing to measure L-Phe levels. A rat model with L-Phe in the drinking water was established to investigate changes in hepatic lipid metabolism. In addition, BNIP3 was overexpressed both in vitro and in vivo to validate the role of L-Phe in BNIP3-mediated mitophagy associated with liver steatosis.
resultsIn both populations, elevated L-Phe quartiles were associated with increased body mass index, triglyceride, and transaminase levels and increased odds of MASLD (all p < 0.05). Rats exposed to L-Phe had increased hepatic lipid deposition and decreased mitophagy in the liver. Differentially expressed proteins were enriched in the PPARα and fatty acid β-oxidation signalling pathways, with downregulation of the mitophagy marker BNIP3. Mitophagy was activated by rapamycin and then inhibited by L-Phe, indicating that elevated L-Phe promoted lipid accumulation by suppressing mitophagy. BNIP3 overexpression effectively mitigated L-Phe-induced hepatic steatosis by restoring mitophagy. Moreover, L-Phe regulates the BNIP3-mediated PPARα and AMPK/mTOR signalling pathways to promote hepatic steatosis.
conclusionsOur study revealed the role of L-Phe in regulating lipid metabolism and promoting liver steatosis via BNIP3-mediated mitophagy. These findings provide novel insights into the link between L-Phe and liver steatosis, suggesting potential nutritional intervention strategies for preventing MASLD.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.