Decreased hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective: The enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase catalyses the rate-limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis. Until now, there has been no evidence for a possible correlation between HMG-CoA reductase activity and human liver disease. The objective of this study was to test whether HMG-CoA reductase activity is altered in cryptogenic fatty liver disease. Method: We measured this enzyme activity in liver tissue of 20 patients undergoing routine transcutaneous biopsy of the liver (10 patients with cryptogenic fatty liver disease, three with alcoholic fatty liver disease, two with chronic hepatitis and five with normal histology)