Hepatic Zonation in MASLD: Old Question, New Challenge in the Era of Spatial Omics
Erika Paolini, Miriam Longo, Marica Meroni, Paola Dongiovanni
Abstract
Hepatic zonation reflects the concept that hepatocytes and nonparenchymal cells (NPCs) perform distinct metabolic functions, depending on their spatial localization along the porto-central axis. The maintenance of this fine-tuned organization is essential for liver homeostasis, and its disruption may contribute to liver diseases, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Fat overload perturbs zonal gene signatures, lipid handling and oxygen/metabolite gradients progressively leading to steatohepatitis (MASH), fibrosis and HCC, conditions in which the hepatic architecture is lost. Traditional approaches have provided valuable insights into zonation, although they lack the spatial resolution and mask the heterogeneity of NPCs. Thus, the premise of this review is to discuss how spatial omics can redefine our understanding of hepatic zonation by integrating tissue mapping with metabolic organization, specifically focusing on MASLD. The advent of spatial omics accelerates knowledge regarding MASLD pathophysiology, providing more informative insights into transcriptional/translational/lipidomic/metabolomics zone-specific perturbations. Emerging spatial genomics and epigenomics applications further expand this scenario, allowing for the capture of chromatin remodeling in situ. The integration of these state-of-the-art approaches, coupled with artificial intelligence (AI)-based analyses, is promising in the clinic, as it may provide novel zonal prognostic biomarkers and pave the way for precision-medicine strategies targeting zonal switching.