scholarly journals Clusterin Attenuates Hepatic Fibrosis by Inhibiting Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation and Downregulating the Smad3 Signaling Pathway

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seo ◽  
Lee ◽  
Lee ◽  
Kang ◽  
Choi ◽  
...  

Clusterin is a glycoprotein that is expressed in most human tissues and found in body fluids. In our previous studies we demonstrated that clusterin has a protective effect against hepatic lipid accumulation and renal fibrosis; however, the role of clusterin in hepatic fibrosis is unknown. Here, we examined whether clusterin had protective effects against hepatic fibrosis using in vitro and in vivo models. Clusterin was upregulated in the livers of human cirrhotic patients and in thioacetamide (TAA)-induced and bile duct ligation mouse models of liver fibrosis. Loss and overexpression of clusterin promoted and attenuated hepatic fibrosis after TAA injection, respectively. In addition, we found that clusterin attenuates hepatic fibrosis by inhibiting the activation of hepatic stellate cells and Smad3 signaling pathways. Thus, clusterin plays an important role in hepatic fibrosis.

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e0142355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ikuo Nakamura ◽  
Kais Zakharia ◽  
Bubu A. Banini ◽  
Dalia S. Mikhail ◽  
Tae Hyo Kim ◽  
...  

Cytokine ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. 155288
Author(s):  
Feng Peng ◽  
Yi Tian ◽  
Jing Ma ◽  
Zhenyu Xu ◽  
Sujuan Wang ◽  
...  

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiahuan Li ◽  
Xiaoling Deng ◽  
Shuhan Wang ◽  
Qianqian Jiang ◽  
Keshu Xu

Resolvin D1 (RvD1) was previously reported to relieve inflammation and liver damage in several liver diseases, but its potential role in liver fibrosis remains elusive. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of RvD1 in hepatic autophagy in liver fibrosis. In vivo, male C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with 20% carbon tetrachloride (CCl4, 5 ml/kg) twice weekly for 6 weeks to establish liver fibrosis model. RvD1 (100 ng or 300 ng/mouse) was added daily in the last 2 weeks of the modeling period. In vitro, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated LX-2 cells were co-treated with increasing concentrations (2.5–10 nM) of RvD1. The degree of liver injury was measured by detecting serum AST and ALT contents and H&E staining. Hepatic fibrosis was assessed by masson's trichrome staining and metavir scoring. The qRT-PCR, western blot, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence were applied to liver tissues or LPS-activated LX-2 cells to explore the protective effects of RvD1 in liver fibrosis. Our findings reported that RvD1 significantly attenuated CCl4 induced liver injury and fibrosis by decreasing plasma AST and ALT levels, reducing collagen I and α-SMA accumulation and other pro-fibrotic genes (CTGF, TIMP-1 and Vimentin) expressions in mouse liver, restoring damaged histological architecture and improving hepatic fibrosis scores. In vitro, RvD1 also repressed the LPS induced LX-2 cells activation and proliferation. These significant improvements mainly attributed to the inhibiting effect of RvD1 on autophagy in the process of hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation, as demonstrated by decreased ratio of LC3-II/I and elevated p62 after RvD1 treatment. In addition, using AZD5363 (an AKT inhibitor that activates autophagy) and AZD8055 (an mTOR inhibitor, another autophagy activator), we further verified that RvD1 suppressed autophagy-mediated HSC activation and alleviated CCl4 induced liver fibrosis partly through AKT/mTOR pathway. Overall, these results demonstrate that RvD1 treatment is expected to become a novel therapeutic strategy against liver fibrosis.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e92273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ikuo Nakamura ◽  
Kais Zakharia ◽  
Bubu A. Banini ◽  
Dalia S. Mikhail ◽  
Tae Hyo Kim ◽  
...  

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1860
Author(s):  
Patricia Diez-Echave ◽  
Izaskun Martín-Cabrejas ◽  
José Garrido-Mesa ◽  
Susana Langa ◽  
Teresa Vezza ◽  
...  

Limosilactobacillus reuteri INIA P572 is a strain able to produce the antimicrobial compound reuterin in dairy products, exhibiting a protective effect against some food-borne pathogens. In this study, we investigated some probiotic properties of this strain such as resistance to gastrointestinal passage or to colonic conditions, reuterin production in a colonic environment, and immunomodulatory activity, using different in vitro and in vivo models. The results showed a high resistance of this strain to gastrointestinal conditions, as well as capacity to grow and produce reuterin in a human colonic model. Although the in vitro assays using the RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line did not demonstrate direct immunomodulatory properties, the in vivo assays using a Dextran Sulphate Sodium (DSS)-induced colitic mice model showed clear immunomodulatory and protective effects of this strain.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 964-976
Author(s):  
Ilaria Dettori ◽  
Irene Fusco ◽  
Irene Bulli ◽  
Lisa Gaviano ◽  
Elisabetta Coppi ◽  
...  

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Simón Serrano ◽  
Alvar Grönberg ◽  
Lisa Longato ◽  
Krista Rombouts ◽  
Joseph Kuo ◽  
...  

Hepatic fibrosis can result as a pathological response to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Cirrhosis, the late stage of fibrosis, has been linked to poor survival and an increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma, with limited treatment options available. Therefore, there is an unmet need for novel effective antifibrotic compounds. Cyclophilins are peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerases that facilitate protein folding and conformational changes affecting the function of the targeted proteins. Due to their activity, cyclophilins have been presented as key factors in several stages of the fibrotic process. In this study, we investigated the antifibrotic effects of NV556, a novel potent sanglifehrin-based cyclophilin inhibitor, in vitro and in vivo. NV556 potential antifibrotic effect was evaluated in two well-established animal models of NASH, STAM, and methionine-choline-deficient (MCD) mice, as well as in an in vitro 3D human liver ECM culture of LX2 cells, a human hepatic stellate cell line. We demonstrate that NV556 decreased liver fibrosis in both STAM and MCD in vivo models and decreased collagen production in TGFβ1-activated hepatic stellate cells in vitro. Taken together, these results present NV556 as a potential candidate for the treatment of liver fibrosis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (7) ◽  
pp. 1052-1064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minjuan Ma ◽  
Rui Duan ◽  
Lulu Shen ◽  
Mengting Liu ◽  
Yaya Ji ◽  
...  

Excessive lipid deposition is a hallmark of NAFLD. Although much has been learned about the enzymes and metabolites involved in NAFLD, few studies have focused on the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in hepatic lipid accumulation. Here, using in vitro and in vivo models of NAFLD, we found that the lncRNA Gm15622 is highly expressed in the liver of obese mice fed a HFD and in murine liver (AML-12) cells treated with free fatty acids. Investigating the molecular mechanism in the liver-enriched expression of Gm15622 and its effects on lipid accumulation in hepatocytes and on NAFLD pathogenesis, we found that Gm15622 acts as a sponge for the microRNA miR-742-3p. This sponging activity increased the expression of the transcriptional regulator SREBP-1c and promoted lipid accumulation in the liver of the HFD mice and AML-12 cells. Moreover, further results indicated that metformin suppresses Gm15622 and alleviates NAFLD-associated lipid deposition in mice. In conclusion, we have identified an lncRNA Gm15622/miR-742-3p/SREBP-1c regulatory circuit associated with NAFLD in mice, a finding that significantly advances our insight into how lipid metabolism and accumulation are altered in this metabolic disorder. Our results also suggest that Gm15622 may be a potential therapeutic target for managing NAFLD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wonbeak Yoo ◽  
Jaemin Lee ◽  
Kyung Hee Noh ◽  
Sangmin Lee ◽  
Dana Jung ◽  
...  

Abstract Progranulin (PGRN) is a cysteine-rich secreted protein expressed in endothelial cells, immune cells, neurons, and adipocytes. It was first identified for its growth factor-like properties, being implicated in tissue remodeling, development, inflammation, and protein homeostasis. However, these findings are controversial, and the role of PGRN in liver disease remains unknown. In the current study, we examined the effect of PGRN in two different models of chronic liver disease, methionine‐choline‐deficient diet (MCD)-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver fibrosis. To induce long-term expression of PGRN, PGRN-expressing adenovirus was delivered via injection into the tibialis anterior. In the CCl4-induced fibrosis model, PGRN showed protective effects against hepatic injury, inflammation, and fibrosis via inhibition of nuclear transcription factor kappa B (NF-κB) phosphorylation. PGRN also decreased lipid accumulation and inhibited pro-inflammatory cytokine production and fibrosis in the MCD-induced NASH model. In vitro treatment of primary macrophages and Raw 264.7 cells with conditioned media from hepatocytes pre-treated with PGRN prior to stimulation with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α or palmitate decreased their expression of pro-inflammatory genes. Furthermore, PGRN suppressed inflammatory and fibrotic gene expression in a cell culture model of hepatocyte injury and primary stellate cell activation. These observations increase our understanding of the role of PGRN in liver injury and suggest PGRN delivery as a potential therapeutic strategy in chronic inflammatory liver disease.


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