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Lucantoni F, Martínez-Cerezuela A, Gruevska A, et al. Understanding the implication of autophagy in the activation of hepatic stellate cells in liver fibrosis: are we there yet?. J Pathol. 2021;254(3):216-228doi: 10.1002/path.5678.
Lucantoni, F., Martínez-Cerezuela, A., Gruevska, A., Moragrega, �. �. B., Víctor, V. M., Esplugues, J. V., Blas-García, A., & Apostolova, N. (2021). Understanding the implication of autophagy in the activation of hepatic stellate cells in liver fibrosis: are we there yet?. The Journal of pathology, 254(3), 216-228. https://doi.org/10.1002/path.5678
Lucantoni, Federico, et al. "Understanding the implication of autophagy in the activation of hepatic stellate cells in liver fibrosis: are we there yet?." The Journal of pathology vol. 254,3 (2021): 216-228. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/path.5678
Lucantoni F, Martínez-Cerezuela A, Gruevska A, Moragrega ÁB, Víctor VM, Esplugues JV, Blas-García A, Apostolova N. Understanding the implication of autophagy in the activation of hepatic stellate cells in liver fibrosis: are we there yet?. J Pathol. 2021 Jul;254(3):216-228. doi: 10.1002/path.5678. Epub 2021 May 25. PMID: 33834482.
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J Pathol. 2021 Jul;254(3):216-228. doi: 10.1002/path.5678. Epub 2021 May 25.

Understanding the implication of autophagy in the activation of hepatic stellate cells in liver fibrosis: are we there yet?.

The Journal of pathology

Federico Lucantoni, Andreu Martínez-Cerezuela, Aleksandra Gruevska, Ángela B Moragrega, Víctor M Víctor, Juan V Esplugues, Ana Blas-García, Nadezda Apostolova

Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
  2. FISABIO - Hospital Universitario Doctor Peset, Valencia, Spain.
  3. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Valencia, Spain.
  4. Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.

PMID: 33834482 DOI: 10.1002/path.5678

Abstract

Liver fibrosis (LF) occurs as a result of persistent liver injury and can be defined as a pathologic, chronic, wound-healing process in which functional parenchyma is progressively replaced by fibrotic tissue. As a phenomenon involved in the majority of chronic liver diseases, and therefore prevalent, it exerts a significant impact on public health. This impact becomes even more patent given the lack of a specific pharmacological therapy, with LF only being ameliorated or prevented through the use of agents that alleviate the underlying causes. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are fundamental mediators of LF, which, activated in response to pro-fibrotic stimuli, transdifferentiate from a quiescent phenotype into myofibroblasts that deposit large amounts of fibrotic tissue and mediate pro-inflammatory effects. In recent years, much effort has been devoted to understanding the mechanisms through which HSCs are activated or inactivated. Using cell culture and/or different animal models, numerous studies have shown that autophagy is enhanced during the fibrogenic process and have provided specific evidence to pinpoint the fundamental role of autophagy in HSC activation. This effect involves - though may not be limited to - the autophagic degradation of lipid droplets. Several hepatoprotective agents have been shown to reverse the autophagic alteration present in LF, but clinical confirmation of these effects is pending. On the other hand, there is evidence that implicates autophagy in several anti-fibrotic mechanisms in HSCs that stimulate HSC cell cycle arrest and cell death or prevent the generation of pro-fibrotic mediators, including excess collagen accumulation. The objective of this review is to offer a comprehensive analysis of published evidence of the role of autophagy in HSC activation and to provide hints for possible therapeutic targets for the treatment and/or prevention of LF related to autophagy. © 2021 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

© 2021 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Keywords: LX-2; autophagy; fibrosis resolution; hepatic stellate cells; liver fibrosis; statins

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