**1. Introduction**

Coffee is the most consumed beverage worldwide and coffee production plays a relevant role in several countries [www.fao.org]. Coffee is consumed for its taste, flavor, and its psychoactive properties. In the last decade, it has been also shown that coffee consumption associates with beneficial effects on several health outcomes [1].

Epidemiological studies including prospective cohorts have shown that coffee consumption may prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and may confer protection against

**Citation:** Di Mauro, S.; Salomone, F.; Scamporrino, A.; Filippello, A.; Morisco, F.; Guido, M.; Lembo, V.; Cossiga, V.; Pipitone, R.M.; Grimaudo, S.; et al. Coffee Restores Expression of lncRNAs Involved in Steatosis and Fibrosis in a Mouse Model of NAFLD. *Nutrients* **2021**, *13*, 2952. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/nu13092952

Academic Editor: Marilyn Cornelis

Received: 8 June 2021 Accepted: 22 August 2021 Published: 25 August 2021

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the metabolic syndrome in general [2]. Coffee consumption is inversely associated with the degree of fibrosis in subjects with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) [3,4]. Among the thousand molecules contained in coffee, pre-clinical studies have showed that the main components exerting beneficial metabolic effects are those of the polyphenolic fraction, i.e., chlorogenic acids [5], whereas the molecular mechanisms by which coffee exerts hepatoprotective effects have been only in part elucidated [6].

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides lacking a long protein-coding open reading frame (ORFs) [7,8]. LncRNAs are involved in a myriad of cellular processes through the regulation of gene expression at epigenetic, transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, and post-translational levels [9]. Furthermore, they are also involved in the regulation of protein localization and activity [10]. All these functions are probably determined by the ability of lncRNAs to bind DNA, other RNAs and proteins [11]. Several lncRNAs have been associated with metabolic homeostasis and disorders related to insulin resistance [7,12,13].

In recent years, the involvement of specific lncRNA in metabolic pathways relevant to NAFLD including lipid metabolism, fibrosis, clock gene regulation, apoptosis and inflammation has been reported [14].

The aim of this study was to establish whether the intake of coffee might influence the liver expression of lncRNAs in a diet-induced murine model of NAFLD.
