The organ people only think about when a blood test comes back odd. Two of its commonest numbers are partly inherited, which is why a raised enzyme is a question rather than a verdict.
Why this topic Fatty liver became the most common liver condition in the world while nobody was looking, and it is usually found by accident.
2026-03-01 · Ovadia C et al., 4-patient open-label trial
Four pregnant patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) were treated with volixibat, a drug that blocks bile acid reabsorption in the gut. Three of the four had reduced itching regardless of dose, and all patients' bile acid levels dropped below 6 micromol/L, with all delivering healthy infants. A genuinely small, early result (4 patients, no placebo arm), reported honestly as such. See this site's <a href="/conditions/intrahepatic-cholestasis-of-pregnancy">intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy</a> page, whose own top variant sits in ABCB11, a gene in the same bile-acid pathway this drug targets.
Solid lines are connections this site curates. Dashed lines mean the two ends share a research paper — worth knowing, and not a claim that one explains the other.
Counted in Europe PMC, where the title or abstract names both this topic and that rsID. The number is papers, not evidence of a cause.
IL29
Chronic hepatitis C infection
72 papers →ALDH2
Alcohol flush reaction
17 papers →HLA-DPA1
Hepatitis B
15 papers →ADH1B
Alcohol metabolism speed
14 papers →HLA-DPB1
Hepatitis B (viral clearance)
13 papers →HLA-DQB1
Chronic hepatitis B infection
8 papers →MERTK
Hepatitis C induced liver fibrosis
7 papers →HFE
Iron overload risk (hereditary hemochromatosis)
6 papers →MTHFR
Folate metabolism (MTHFR C677T)
6 papers →ITPA
Chronic hepatitis C infection
6 papers →GCKR
Uric acid levels
5 papers →HSD17B13
Liver enzyme levels (alanine transaminase)
4 papers →RNF7
Hepatitis C induced liver fibrosis
3 papers →HLA-DQA2
Crohn's disease
3 papers →ATG16L1
Crohn's disease
3 papers →GC
Vitamin D levels
3 papers →NCAN
LDL cholesterol
2 papers →STAT4
Systemic lupus erythematosus
2 papers →DARC
Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 levels
2 papers →ARHGEF3
Platelet count
2 papers →HFE
Iron overload risk (HFE H63D)
2 papers →PARVB
Hematological and biochemical traits
2 papers →IL7R
Ulcerative colitis
2 papers →APOE
Lewy body disease
2 papers →POU2AF1
Primary biliary cholangitis
2 papers →IL12A
Primary biliary cholangitis
2 papers →near TNFAIP3
Ulcerative colitis
2 papers →STAT4
Type 1 diabetes
2 papers →CYP3A5
CYP3A5 expression (*3 allele)
2 papers →UGT1A1
Bilirubin levels
2 papers →CPS1
Plasma homocysteine levels (post-methionine load test)
1 paper →TNPO
Systemic sclerosis
1 paper →TNFAIP3
Rheumatoid arthritis
1 paper →near IRF8
Primary biliary cholangitis
1 paper →CFTR
Cystic fibrosis (F508del)
1 paper →TPMT
TPMT *3C — thiopurine tolerance
1 paper →NUDT15
NUDT15 *3 — thiopurine tolerance
1 paper →XPNPEP1
Biliary atresia
1 paper →UBE4B
Hepatocellular carcinoma
1 paper →FADS1
Metabolite levels
1 paper →TGFB1
Colorectal cancer
1 paper →TNFRSF1A
Primary biliary cholangitis
1 paper →IFIH1
Type 1 diabetes
1 paper →GPR146
Cholesterol, total
1 paper →TERT
Prostate cancer
1 paper →CD80
Primary biliary cholangitis
1 paper →GSDMB
Asthma (childhood onset)
1 paper →ZDHHC11
Pancreatic cancer
1 paper →TERT
Lung adenocarcinoma
1 paper →DARC / ACKR1
Duffy blood group (malaria resistance)
1 paper →SNCA
Parkinson's disease
1 paper →SPIB
Primary biliary cholangitis
1 paper →TNPO3
Ulcerative colitis
1 paper →IL27
Type 1 diabetes
1 paper →TLR1
Asthma and hay fever
1 paper →IL12A
Primary biliary cholangitis
1 paper →EDN1
Circulating vasoactive peptide levels
1 paper →ABO
Soluble E-selectin levels
1 paper →FUT2
Secretor status
1 paper →MBOAT7
Cirrhosis (alcohol related)
1 paper →BDNF
Smoking behavior
1 paper →IL12B
Crohn's disease
1 paper →PRDM1
Systemic lupus erythematosus
1 paper →CYP1A2
Caffeine metabolism
1 paper →PON-1
Paraoxonase activity
1 paper →HBS1L
Red blood cell traits
1 paper →Europe PMC, title and abstract only, searched for “liver enzyme levels”, “liver fibrosis”, “cirrhosis” alongside each published rsID. Full text was not counted: it returns every paper with an rsID buried in a supplementary table. Recounted monthly.
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Liver. MyGeneLog™. https://www.mygenelog.com/topics/liver
Liver is this site's topic page for hepatic genetics — the organ people only think about when a blood test comes back odd, and two of its commonest numbers are partly inherited.
Partly — two of the liver's commonest measured numbers have a real inherited component, which is why a raised enzyme reading is a question worth investigating rather than an automatic verdict of disease.
Fatty liver became the most common liver condition in the world while nobody was looking, and it is usually found by accident on a routine test rather than through symptoms.
Europe PMC is searched for liver enzyme levels, liver fibrosis or cirrhosis appearing in a paper's title or abstract alongside a published rsID, recounted every month.