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34 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 34

Abstract (Expand)

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), recently also re-defined as metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), is rapidly increasing, affecting ~25% of the world population. MALFD/NAFLD represents a spectrum of liver pathologies including the more benign hepatic steatosis and the more advanced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH is associated with enhanced risk for liver fibrosis and progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatic stellate cells (HSC) activation underlies NASH-related fibrosis. Here, we discuss the profibrogenic pathways, which lead to HSC activation and fibrogenesis, with a particular focus on the intercellular hepatocyte-HSC and macrophage-HSC crosstalk.

Authors: P. Subramanian, J. Hampe, F. Tacke, T. Chavakis

Date Published: 23rd Jun 2022

Publication Type: Journal

Abstract (Expand)

Physiological liver cell replacement is central to maintaining the organ’s high metabolic activity, although its characteristics are difficult to study in humans. Using retrospective radiocarbon (14C) birth dating of cells, we report that human hepatocytes show continuous and lifelong turnover, allowing the liver to remain a young organ (average age <3 years). Hepatocyte renewal is highly dependent on the ploidy level. Diploid hepatocytes show more than 7-fold higher annual birth rates than polyploid hepatocytes. These observations support the view that physiological liver cell renewal in humans is mainly dependent on diploid hepatocytes, whereas polyploid cells are compromised in their ability to divide. Moreover, cellular transitions between diploid and polyploid hepatocytes are limited under homeostatic conditions. With these findings, we present an integrated model of homeostatic liver cell generation in humans that provides fundamental insights into liver cell turnover dynamics.

Authors: Paula Heinke, Fabian Rost, Julian Rode, Palina Trus, Irina Simonova, Enikő Lázár, Joshua Feddema, Thilo Welsch, Kanar Alkass, Mehran Salehpour, Andrea Zimmermann, Daniel Seehofer, Göran Possnert, Georg Damm, Henrik Druid, Lutz Brusch, Olaf Bergmann

Date Published: 1st Jun 2022

Publication Type: Journal

Abstract (Expand)

The Hedgehog signaling pathway regulates many processes during embryogenesis and the homeostasis of adult organs. Recent data suggest that central metabolic processes and signaling cascades in the livers in the liver are controlled by the Hedgehog pathway and that changes in hepatic Hedgehog activity also affect peripheral tissues, such as the reproductive organs in females. Here, we show that hepatocyte-specific deletion of the Hedgehog pathway is associated with the dramatic expansion of adipose tissue in mice, the overall phenotype of which does not correspond to the classical outcome of insulin resistance-associated diabetes type 2 obesity. Rather, we show that alterations in the Hedgehog signaling pathway in the liver lead to a metabolic phenotype that is resembling metabolically healthy obesity. Mechanistically, we identified an indirect influence on the hepatic secretion of the fibroblast growth factor 21, which is regulated by a series of signaling cascades that are directly transcriptionally linked to the activity of the Hedgehog transcription factor GLI1. The results of this study impressively show that the metabolic balance of the entire organism is maintained via the activity of morphogenic signaling pathways, such as the Hedgehog cascade. Obviously, several pathways are orchestrated to facilitate liver metabolic status to peripheral organs, such as adipose tissue.

Authors: Fritzi Ott, Christiane Körner, Kim Werner, Martin Gericke, Ines Liebscher, Donald Lobsien, Silvia Radrezza, Andrej Shevchenko, Ute Hofmann, Jürgen Kratzsch, Rolf Gebhardt, Thomas Berg, Madlen Matz-Soja

Date Published: 1st May 2022

Publication Type: Journal

Abstract (Expand)

The host genetic background for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is incompletely understood. We aimed to determine if four germline genetic polymorphisms, rs429358 in apolipoprotein E ( APOE ), rs2642438rotein E ( APOE ), rs2642438 in mitochondrial amidoxime reducing component 1 ( MARC1 ), rs2792751 in glycerol‐3‐phosphate acyltransferase ( GPAM ), and rs187429064 in transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 ( TM6SF2 ), previously associated with progressive alcohol‐related and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, are also associated with HCC. Four HCC case‐control data sets were constructed, including two mixed etiology data sets (UK Biobank and FinnGen); one hepatitis C virus (HCV) cohort (STOP‐HCV), and one alcohol‐related HCC cohort (Dresden HCC). The frequency of each variant was compared between HCC cases and cirrhosis controls (i.e., patients with cirrhosis without HCC). Population controls were also considered. Odds ratios (ORs) associations were calculated using logistic regression, adjusting for age, sex, and principal components of genetic ancestry. Fixed‐effect meta‐analysis was used to determine the pooled effect size across all data sets. Across four case‐control data sets, 2,070 HCC cases, 4,121 cirrhosis controls, and 525,779 population controls were included. The rs429358:C allele ( APOE ) was significantly less frequent in HCC cases versus cirrhosis controls (OR, 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61‐0.84; P  = 2.9 × 10 −5 ). Rs187429064:G ( TM6SF2 ) was significantly more common in HCC cases versus cirrhosis controls and exhibited the strongest effect size (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.45‐2.86; P  = 3.1 × 10 −6 ). In contrast, rs2792751:T ( GPAM ) was not associated with HCC (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.90‐1.13; P  = 0.89), whereas rs2642438:A ( MARC1 ) narrowly missed statistical significance (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.84‐1.00; P  = 0.043). Conclusion: This study associates carriage of rs429358:C ( APOE ) with a reduced risk of HCC in patients with cirrhosis. Conversely, carriage of rs187429064:G in TM6SF2 is associated with an increased risk of HCC in patients with cirrhosis.

Authors: Hamish Innes, Hans Dieter Nischalke, Indra Neil Guha, Karl Heinz Weiss, Will Irving, Daniel Gotthardt, Eleanor Barnes, Janett Fischer, M. Azim Ansari, Jonas Rosendahl, Shang‐Kuan Lin, Astrid Marot, Vincent Pedergnana, Markus Casper, Jennifer Benselin, Frank Lammert, John McLauchlan, Philip L. Lutz, Victoria Hamill, Sebastian Mueller, Joanne R. Morling, Georg Semmler, Florian Eyer, Johann von Felden, Alexander Link, Arndt Vogel, Jens U. Marquardt, Stefan Sulk, Jonel Trebicka, Luca Valenti, Christian Datz, Thomas Reiberger, Clemens Schafmayer, Thomas Berg, Pierre Deltenre, Jochen Hampe, Felix Stickel, Stephan Buch

Date Published: 2022

Publication Type: Journal

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