Is the slippery slope from steatosis to steatohepatitis paved with triglyceride or cholesterol?

Abstract

Accumulation of hepatic lipids has been thought to trigger the inflammation, apoptosis, and fibrosis that characterize progression of hepatic steatosis to steatohepatitis and cirrhosis. In this issue of Cell Metabolism, Marí et al. (2006) provide evidence for excessive mitochondrial free cholesterol as a cause of the progession of steatosis to more severe liver disease.