Natalie J. Török

Natalie J. Török, MD, MSc, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Research description: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the most common liver disease in the US and worldwide. Type 2 diabetes is a major risk factor for developing progressive steatohepatitis leading to cirrhosis and end stage liver disease. Dr. Török’s lab studies the mechanisms of liver fibrogenesis, and described the role of NADPH oxidase activation and stress signaling in hepatocytes contributing to recruitment of macrophages, hepatic insulin resistance and fibrosis. NADPH oxidase activation was also key to the activation of stellate cells to myofibroblasts. Using a new dietary model of NASH they showed that RAGE engagement and NADPH oxidase-mediated redox stress were linked to the dysregulated clearance of advanced glycation end products and changes in matrix biomechanical properties. Their studies also include translational approaches with the goal of developing novel treatments for patients with diabetes and NASH.

Selected relevant publications (SDRC members in BOLD):

  1. Dehnad A, Fan W, Jiang JX, Fish SR, Li Y, Das S, Mozes G, Wong KA, Olson KA, Charville GW, Ali M, Török NJ. AGER1 downregulation associates with fibrosis in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and type 2 diabetes. J Clin Invest. 2020 Aug 3;130(8):4320-4330. doi: 10.1172/JCI133051. PMID: 32657776; PMCID: PMC7410084. 

  2. Jiang JX, Fish SR, Tomilov A, Li Y, Fan W, Dehnad A, Gae D, Das S, Mozes G, Charville GW, Ramsey J, Cortopassi G, Török NJ. Nonphagocytic Activation of NOX2 Is Implicated in Progressive Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis During Aging. Hepatology. 2020 Oct;72(4):1204-1218. doi: 10.1002/hep.31118. PMID: 31950520; PMCID: PMC7478166. 

  3. Ouyang X, Han SN, Zhang JY, Dioletis E, Nemeth BT, Pacher P, Feng D, Bataller R, Cabezas J, Stärkel P, Caballeria J, Pongratz RL, Cai SY, Schnabl B, Hoque R, Chen Y, Yang WH, Garcia-Martinez I, Wang FS, Gao B, Török NJ, Kibbey RG, Mehal WZ. Digoxin Suppresses Pyruvate Kinase M2-Promoted HIF-1α Transactivation in Steatohepatitis. Cell Metab. 2018 Feb 6;27(2):339-350.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.01.007. PMID: 29414684; PMCID: PMC5806149.