Induced hepatic stellate cell integrin, α8β1, enhances cellular contractility and TGFβ activity in liver fibrosis.

ABSTRACT: No effective therapy exists for fatal fibrosis. New therapeutic targets are needed for hepatic fibrosis because the incidence keeps increasing. The activation and differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts that causes excessive matrix deposition is central to fibrosis. Here, we investigated whether (and which) integrin receptors for matrix proteins activate hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). First, integrin α-subunits were investigated systematically for their expression over the course of HSC activation and their distribution on fibroblasts and other systemic primary cells. The most upregulated in plate culture-activated HSCs and specifically expressed across fibroblast linages was the α8 subunit. An anti-α8 neutralizing mAb was evaluated in three different murine fibrosis models: for

SUBMITTER: Nishimichi N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7986747 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature