Roles of short-chain fatty acids in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis

Figure 3 Graphic demonstration of the role of short-chain fatty acids in CD4 during metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease/metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) promote naïve CD4⁺ T cell differentiation towards Th2, Th22, and Tregs to protect against liver injury and damage. SCFAs increase the ratio of Th17 to resting Treg, conferring an anti-fibrotic effect. SCFAs enhance anti-inflammatory effects through inhibition of Th1 and an increase of Th2 and Treg cells, improving insulin sensitivity. Increased levels of Treg can reduce cholesterol. Pro-drugs modulating SCFAs can decrease lipid accumulation and present an anti-fibrotic effect. MASLD: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. This figure was created using BioRender.com (Supplementary material).