Peroxisomes and the fatty liver of malnutrition: an hypothesis.

Peroxisomes play a role in hepatic beta-oxidation of fat, a process that results in the production of hydrogen peroxide. The fatty infiltration of the liver that occurs in severely malnourished children remains unexplained. We observed an almost total absence of peroxisomes in the hepatocytes of these children. We suggest that lack of available peroxisomes could contribute to the development of fatty liver.