Identification of apoptosis as key biochemical mechanism in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease after hepatic steatosis through bioinformatics and functional analyses

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a growing global health crisis and is closely associated with increases in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Despite its ubiquity, its underlying biochemical mechanisms and effective therapeutic strategies remain poorly defined, hampering the development of targeted interventions. Methods: Candidate genes were obtained from the GEO database, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis and gene set enrichment analysis were used to identify pathways involved in NAFLD-related pathways. The top genes with higher degree in the protein-protein interaction network were crossed with the top genes enriched in key pathways, and then the correlation analysis between key genes and chemotherapy response was performed. Result: Apoptosis, oxidative stress, NF-kB pathway, etc. are key pathways related to NAFLD. Lcn2, Mt1, Egr1, Jun, Nqo1, Btg2, Foxq1 and Hyou1 were enriched in key pathways of apoptosis. Conclusion: Apoptosis, oxidative stress, NF-kB pathway are key pathways related to NAFLD.