HGF Secreted by Activated Kupffer Cells Induces Apoptosis of Plasmodium-Infected Hepatocytes.

ABSTRACT: Malaria liver stage infection is an obligatory parasite development step and represents a population bottleneck in Plasmodium infections, providing an advantageous target for blocking parasite cycle progression. Parasite development inside hepatocytes implies a gross cellular insult evoking innate host responses to counteract intra-hepatocytic infection. Using primary hepatocyte cultures, we investigated the role of Kupffer cell-derived hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in malaria liver stage infection. We found that Kupffer cells from Plasmodium-infected livers produced high levels of HGF, which trigger apoptosis of infected hepatocytes through a mitochondrial-independent apoptosis pathway. HGF action in infected hepatocyte primary cultures results in a potent reduction of para

SUBMITTER: Goncalves LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5292919 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature