NASH animal models: Are we there yet?

Given the obesity pandemic and the concomitant meteoric rise in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) prevalence [1], there has been an urgent need to understand the pathogenetic mechanisms responsible for disease development and progression. This required the development of experimental models that mimic the human condition, as causative, mechanistic studies are many times more difficult or impossible to conduct in humans. Moreover, these animal models may serve as a powerful preclinical platform to study novel therapeutic strategies for this disease.