SYDNEY, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Australian researchers said on Wednesday that they have uncovered a set of genes associated with liver scarring and fatty liver, pointing to new ways of treating chronic liver disease.

The impact of environmental factors such as infection, alcohol, obesity and poor diet on the development of the disease is well established, but how genetic factors contribute to its progression has remained largely a mystery, Divya Ramnath, who led the study with colleague Professor Matt Sweet from the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience and Professor Elizabeth Powell at the university's Centre for Liver Disease Research, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

"We took a deeper look than previous genetic studies, profiling gene expression changes in liver biopsies of patients at various stages of liver fibrosis - or scarring - in combination with changes in levels of specific markers in the blood that are predictive of liver fibrosis," said Ramnath.

The researchers' approach enabled them to identify a core set of liver fibrosis-associated genes as well as a specific protein "that likely drives the expression of many of these genes."

By comparing the genetic profiles of chronic liver disease patients with and without fatty liver, they were also able to pinpoint a set of genes specifically associated with the fat buildup in the organ, said Ramnath, whose findings were published in biomedical journal JCI Insight. About 5.5 million Australians have fatty liver disease, a condition in which the liver accumulates fat, causing inflammation and leaving patients, who often have no symptoms, more susceptible to liver cancer, according to the institute.

The latest study offers potential for the development of therapeutic interventions to both treat chronic liver disease and halt its progression, said the institute.