J Lipid Res
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Hydroxysteroid 17-β dehydrogenase 13 (HSD17B13) is a lipid droplet-associated protein; its gene-encoding variants affect the chronic liver diseases, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). To estimate the effect of rs72613567, a splice variant with an adenine insertion (A-INS), on NAFLD susceptibility and severity, we performed a case-control study with 609 individuals. We investigated the effect of carrying the A-INS allele in 356 patients with biopsy-proven disease and explored the relationship between rs72613567 genotypes and the hepatic transcriptome. ⋯ In patients carrying A-INS, HSD17B13 levels decreased proportionally to allele dosage. Whole-transcriptome genotype profiling showed overrepresented immune response-related pathways. Thus, the rs72613567 A-INS allele reduces the risk of NASH and progressive liver damage and may become a therapeutic target.