Soluble CD163, a macrophage activation marker, is independently associated with fibrosis in patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C

Konstantin Kazankov, Francisco Barrera, Holger Jon Møller, Bo Martin Bibby, Hendrik Vilstrup, Jacob George, Henning Grønbæk – 13 March 2014 – Macrophages are involved in inflammation and liver fibrosis and soluble (s)CD163 is a specific marker of activated macrophages. We investigated associations between sCD163 and biochemical and histological parameters of inflammatory activity and fibrosis in 551 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and 203 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) before antiviral treatment.

Activation of invariant natural killer T cells impedes liver regeneration by way of both IFN‐γ‐ and IL‐4‐dependent mechanisms

Shi Yin, Hua Wang, Adeline Bertola, Dechun Feng, Ming‐jiang Xu, Yan Wang, Bin Gao – 13 March 2014 – Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a major subset of lymphocytes found in the liver. These cells mediate various functions, including hepatic injury, fibrogenesis, and carcinogenesis. However, the function of iNKT cells in liver regeneration remains unclear. In the present study, partial hepatectomy (PHx) was used to study liver regeneration. α‐Galactosylceramide (α‐GalCer), a specific ligand for iNKT cells, was used to induce iNKT cell activation.

Angiotensin‐II type 1 receptor‐mediated Janus kinase 2 activation induces liver fibrosis

Michaela Granzow, Robert Schierwagen, Sabine Klein, Benita Kowallick, Sebastian Huss, Markus Linhart, Irela G. Reza Mazar, Jan Görtzen, Annabelle Vogt, Frank A. Schildberg, Maria A. Gonzalez‐Carmona, Alexandra Wojtalla, Benjamin Krämer, Jacob Nattermann, Sören V. Siegmund, Nikos Werner, Dieter O. Fürst, Wim Laleman, Percy Knolle, Vijay H. Shah, Tilman Sauerbruch, Jonel Trebicka – 11 March 2014 – Activation of the renin angiotensin system resulting in stimulation of angiotensin‐II (AngII) type I receptor (AT1R) is an important factor in the development of liver fibrosis.

E2F1 is a novel fibrogenic gene that regulates cholestatic liver fibrosis through the Egr‐1/SHP/EID1 network

Yuxia Zhang, Ningyi Xu, Jun Xu, Bo Kong, Bryan Copple, Grace L. Guo, Li Wang – 11 March 2014 – E2F transcription factor 1 (E2F1) is an important regulator of metabolic diseases; however, its role in liver function remains elusive. This study unraveled a regulatory cascade involving E2F1, early growth response‐1 (Egr‐1), nuclear receptor small heterodimer partner (SHP, NR0B2), and EIA‐like inhibitor of differentiation 1 (EID1) in cholestatic liver fibrosis.

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