scholarly journals Liver X Receptor; Controls Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation via Hedgehog Signaling

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zhong ◽  
Bo Ning ◽  
Xuan Du ◽  
Huang Shengjie ◽  
Can Cai ◽  
...  

Liver X receptors (LXR) a and b; serve important roles in cholesterol homeostasis, anti-inflammatory processes and the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). However, the development of therapies for liver fibrosis based on LXR agonists have been hampered due to side-effects such as liver steatosis. In this study, we demonstrated that HSCs expressed high levels of LXRb;, but not LXRa;, and that overexpression of LXRb; suppressed fibrosis and HSC activation in a carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced fibrosis mouse model, without resulting in liver steatosis. Furthermore, Hedgehog (Hh)-regulated proteins, markedly increased in the CCl4-affected liver and mainly expressed in activated HSCs, were repressed under conditions of LXRb; overexpression. In addition, LXRb; knockout led to activation of Hh signaling and triggering of HSC activation, while overexpression of LXRb; led to the inhibition of the Hh pathway and suppression of HSC activation. These results suggest that LXRb; suppresses the activation mechanism of HSCs by inhibiting Hh signaling. In conclusion, LXRb, by restoring the differentiation of HSCs, may be a promising therapeutic target for liver fibrosis without the adverse side-effects of LXRa; activation.

Author(s):  
Xiaoyun Zhu ◽  
Shengtao Ye ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Meihui Zhang ◽  
Yanqiu Zhang ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose: Liver fibrosis is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide of which no acceptable therapy exists. Accumulating evidence supports that glioma-associated oncogene homologue 1(GLI1) is a potentially important therapeutic target for liver fibrosis. This study investigates the antifibrotic activities and potential mechanisms of Physalin B (PB), a natural Solanaceae compound. Experimental Approach: Mice subjected to CCl4 challenge and bile duct ligation were used to study the antifibrotic effects of PB in vivo. Mouse primary hepatic stellate cells (pHSCs) and human HSC line LX‐2 also served as an in vitro liver fibrosis model. Liver fibrogenic genes, GLI1 downstream genes were examined using western blot and real-time PCR analyses. GLI1 acetylation and LAP2α-HDAC1 interaction were analyzed by coimmunoprecipitation. Key Results: In animal models, PB administration attenuated hepatic histopathological injury, collagen accumulation, and reduced the expression of fibrogenic genes. PB dose‐dependently suppressed fibrotic marker expression in LX‐2 cells and mouse pHSCs. Mechanistic studies showed PB inhibited GLI activity in a non-canonical Hedgehog signaling. PB blocked lamina-associated polypeptide 2 α (LAP2α)/ histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) complex formation thereby inhibited HDAC1mediated GLI1 deacetylation. PB downregulated the acetylation and expression of GLI1, and subsequently inhibiting HSC activation. Conclusions and Implications: PB exerted potent antifibrotic effects in vitro and in vivo by disrupting the LAP2α/HDAC1 complex, increasing GLI1 acetylation and inactivating GLI1. This indicates that PB may be a potential therapeutic candidate for the treatment of liver fibrosis.


2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 378-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kohji Otogawa ◽  
Tomohiro Ogawa ◽  
Ryoko Shiga ◽  
Kazuo Ikeda ◽  
Norifumi Kawada

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 6332
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Perakakis ◽  
Pavlina Chrysafi ◽  
Michael Feigh ◽  
Sanne Skovgard Veidal ◽  
Christos S. Mantzoros

Empagliflozin, an established treatment for type 2 diabetes (T2DM), has shown beneficial effects on liver steatosis and fibrosis in animals and in humans with T2DM, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and steatohepatitis (NASH). However, little is known about the effects of empagliflozin on liver function in advanced NASH with liver fibrosis and without diabetes. This study aimed to assess the effects of empagliflozin on hepatic and metabolic outcomes in a diet-induced obese (DIO) and insulin-resistant but non-diabetic biopsy-confirmed mouse model of advanced NASH. Male C57BL/6JRj mice with a biopsy-confirmed steatosis and fibrosis on AMLN diet (high fat, fructose and cholesterol) for 36-weeks were randomized to receive for 12 weeks: (a) Empagliflozin (10 mg/kg/d p.o.), or (b) vehicle. Metabolic outcomes, liver pathology, markers of Kupffer and stellate cell activation and lipidomics were assessed at the treatment completion. Empagliflozin did not affect the body weight, body composition or insulin sensitivity (assessed by intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test), but significantly improved glucose homeostasis as assessed by oral glucose tolerance test in DIO-NASH mice. Empagliflozin improved modestly the NAFLD activity score compared with the vehicle, mainly by improving inflammation and without affecting steatosis, the fibrosis stage and markers of Kupffer and stellate cell activation. Empagliflozin reduced the hepatic concentrations of pro-inflammatory lactosylceramides and increased the concentrations of anti-inflammatory polyunsaturated triglycerides. Empagliflozin exerts beneficial metabolic and hepatic (mainly anti-inflammatory) effects in non-diabetic DIO-NASH mice and thus may be effective against NASH even in non-diabetic conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masakazu Hanayama ◽  
Yasunori Yamamoto ◽  
Hiroki Utsunomiya ◽  
Osamu Yoshida ◽  
Shuang Liu ◽  
...  

AbstractDietary palmitic acid (PA) promotes liver fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Herein, we clarified the intestinal absorption kinetics of dietary PA and effect of trans-portal PA on the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) involved in liver fibrosis in NASH. Blood PA levels after meals were significantly increased in patients with NASH compared to those in the control. Expression of genes associated with fat absorption and chylomicron formation, such as CD36 and MTP, was significantly increased in the intestine of NASH model rats compared with that in the controls. Plasma levels of glucagon-like peptide-2, involved in the upregulation of CD36 expression, were elevated in NASH rats compared with those in the controls. Furthermore, portal PA levels after meals in NASH rats were significantly higher than those in control and nonalcoholic fatty liver rats. Moreover, PA injection into the portal vein to the liver in control rats increased the mRNA levels associated with the activation of HSCs. Increased intestinal absorption of diet-derived PA was observed in NASH. Thus, the rapid increase in PA levels via the portal vein to the liver may activate HSCs and affect the development of liver fibrosis in NASH.


2004 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 766-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erawan Borkham-Kamphorst ◽  
Jens Herrmann ◽  
Doris Stoll ◽  
Jens Treptau ◽  
Axel M Gressner ◽  
...  

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. e0179995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Prestigiacomo ◽  
Anna Weston ◽  
Simon Messner ◽  
Franziska Lampart ◽  
Laura Suter-Dick

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