Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Semin Liver Dis 2025; 45(01): 099-113
DOI: 10.1055/a-2551-3320
Review Article

Alcohol-Metabolizing Enzymes, Liver Diseases and Cancer

Autoren

  • Tao Liu

    1   Department of Hepatology, Center of Infectious Diseases and Pathogen Biology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
    2   China-Singapore Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Liver Disease Research, Changchun, China
    3   Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Metabolic Liver Diseases, Jilin University, Changchun, China
  • FeiYu Zhang

    1   Department of Hepatology, Center of Infectious Diseases and Pathogen Biology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
    2   China-Singapore Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Liver Disease Research, Changchun, China
    3   Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Metabolic Liver Diseases, Jilin University, Changchun, China
  • Yue Feng

    1   Department of Hepatology, Center of Infectious Diseases and Pathogen Biology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
    2   China-Singapore Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Liver Disease Research, Changchun, China
    3   Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Metabolic Liver Diseases, Jilin University, Changchun, China
  • PanShiLi Han

    1   Department of Hepatology, Center of Infectious Diseases and Pathogen Biology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
    2   China-Singapore Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Liver Disease Research, Changchun, China
    3   Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Metabolic Liver Diseases, Jilin University, Changchun, China
  • YanHang Gao

    1   Department of Hepatology, Center of Infectious Diseases and Pathogen Biology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
    2   China-Singapore Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Liver Disease Research, Changchun, China
    3   Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Metabolic Liver Diseases, Jilin University, Changchun, China

Funding This work was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U24A20654; 82170602), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2024YFE0213800), the Project for Middle-aged and Young Excellent Technological Innovation Talents of Jilin Province (20220508079RC), the Natural Science Foundation for self-exploration research of Jilin Province (YDZJ202401427ZYTS), Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Metabolic Liver Diseases (YDZJ202502CXJD002).


Graphical Abstract

Abstract

Alcohol is generally believed to be metabolized in the liver by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), and to a much lesser extent cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) and other enzymes. Recent studies suggest that gut also play important roles in the promotion of alcohol metabolism. ADH, ALDH, and CYP2E1 have several polymorphisms that markedly impact alcohol metabolism. These alcohol-metabolizing enzymes not only affect alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), but may also modulate the pathogenesis of other liver diseases and cancer in the absence of alcohol consumption. In this review, we discuss alcohol metabolism and the roles of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes in the pathogenesis of ALD, metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease, metabolic dysfunction and alcohol–associated liver disease, viral hepatitis, and liver cancer. We also discuss how alcohol-metabolizing enzymes may affect endogenous ethanol production, and how ethanol metabolism in the gut affects liver disease and cancer. Directions for future research on the roles of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes in liver disease and cancer are also elaborated.



Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
29. März 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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