164
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Liver fibrosis.

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPMC
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Liver fibrosis is the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins including collagen that occurs in most types of chronic liver diseases. Advanced liver fibrosis results in cirrhosis, liver failure, and portal hypertension and often requires liver transplantation. Our knowledge of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of liver fibrosis has greatly advanced. Activated hepatic stellate cells, portal fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts of bone marrow origin have been identified as major collagen-producing cells in the injured liver. These cells are activated by fibrogenic cytokines such as TGF-beta1, angiotensin II, and leptin. Reversibility of advanced liver fibrosis in patients has been recently documented, which has stimulated researchers to develop antifibrotic drugs. Emerging antifibrotic therapies are aimed at inhibiting the accumulation of fibrogenic cells and/or preventing the deposition of extracellular matrix proteins. Although many therapeutic interventions are effective in experimental models of liver fibrosis, their efficacy and safety in humans is unknown. This review summarizes recent progress in the study of the pathogenesis and diagnosis of liver fibrosis and discusses current antifibrotic strategies.

          Related collections

          Author and article information

          Journal
          J Clin Invest
          The Journal of clinical investigation
          American Society for Clinical Investigation
          0021-9738
          0021-9738
          Feb 2005
          : 115
          : 2
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Liver Unit, Institut de Malalties Digestives i Metabòliques, Hospital Clinic, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS),Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
          Article
          10.1172/JCI24282
          546435
          15690074
          fa2764ef-ab31-4ab2-9f6f-0b80da05ffeb
          History

          Comments

          Comment on this article

          Related Documents Log