Upregulation of cannabinoid receptor-1 and fibrotic activation of mouse hepatic stellate cells during Schistosoma J. infection: role of NADPH oxidase.

ABSTRACT: The endocannabinoid system (CS) has been implicated in the development of hepatic fibrosis such as schistosomiasis-associated liver fibrosis (SSLF). However, the mechanisms mediating the action of the CS in hepatic fibrosis are unclear. The present study hypothesized that Schistosoma J. infection upregulates cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) due to activation of NADPH oxidase leading to a fibrotic phenotype in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). The SSLF model was developed by infecting mice with Schistosoma J. cercariae in the skin, and HSCs from control and infected mice were then isolated, cultured, and confirmed by analysis of HSC markers α-SMA and desmin. CB1 significantly increased in HSCs isolated from mice with SSLF, which was accompanied by a greater expression of fibrotic markers α-SMA, co

SUBMITTER: Wang M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6739633 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature