Biomarkers of liver diseases

The liver is one of the pivotal organs in the human body and is fundamentally responsible for detoxification and metabolism. Various disorders such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, fibrosis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and hepatitis are associated with improper functions of the liver. Hence, biomarkers are needed to determine the severity. Further, many liver enzymes, including the cascade of aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), and total bilirubin (TBIL), are conventional liver biomarkers. They are not, however, unique to the liver; hence, efforts are being made to identify the precise biomarkers for liver illness that can target liver diseases. HMGB1, cytokeratin 18 (K18), glutathione-S-transferase-& alpha; (GST-& alpha;), glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), and microRNAs (miRNA) are a few examples of developing biomarkers used to detect many liver diseases. Hence, the review has highlighted various novel biomarkers of the liver so that various pathophysiological pathways and treatments can be made easier.