A recently developed amino acid compound successfully treats nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in non-human primates--bringing scientists one step closer to the first human treatment for a condition that is rapidly increasing around the world, a study suggests. Researchers at Michigan Medicine developed DT-109, a glycine-based tripeptide, to treat the severe form of fatty liver disease called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The disease causes scarring and inflammation in the liver and is estimated to affect up to 6.5% of the global population. Results revealed that DT-109 reversed fat buildup and prevented scarring in the livers of both mice and non-human primates that had developed NASH. The study, completed in partnership with an international team including the Laboratory Animal Center at Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center and the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at Peking University Health Science Center, was published on April 10, 2023 in Cell Metabolism. The open-access article is titled “DT-109 Ameliorates Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Nonhuman Primates.”