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Tricyclic Antidepressants Induce Inactivation of Hepatic Stellate Cell (HSC) Myofibroblasts

ABSTRACT: Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the primary cell type responsible for liver fibrosis, the final common pathway leading to cirrhosis and liver failure for nearly every cause of chronic liver disease. Activation of HSCs in response to injury represents the key step in hepatic fibrogenesis, and is characterized by a phenotypic change from a non-fibrogenic, quiescent HSC to a fibrogenic HSC myofibroblast that secretes extracellular matrix proteins responsible for the fibrotic scar. We developed a small molecule screen to identify compounds that revert fibrotic human HSC myofibroblasts to an inactive phenotype through the quantification of lipid droplets with fluorescent microscopy. Conditions were optimized in a 384-well format using culture in Matrigel as a positive control. We screened 1600 compounds and identified 30 small molecules that induce reversion to an inactive phenotype. Among the hits, we identified five tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and showed that this class of drugs also repressed ACTA2 and COL1A1 while promoting PPAR-gamma expression. RNA sequencing analysis implicated extracellular matrix proteins and the sphingolipid pathway as a target of the TCAs.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE78853 | GEO | 2017/03/02

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA314144

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:BACKGROUND AND AIM: We previously established that endoplasmic reticulum stress leads to unfolded protein response (UPR) that promotes liver fibrosis by activating hepatic stellate cell (HSC). We aimed to determine the role of X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1), one of three UPR effector pathways, in the fibrogenic HSC activation. METHODS: XBP1 expression was measured by qPCR in tunicamycin-treated human HSC lines (TWNT4 and LX2) and culture-activated human primary HSCs. XBP1 was overexpressed in primary human HSCs and the HSC lines, and fibrogenic genes (COL1A1, ACTA2, PDGFRB, MMP2, TIMP1) and encoded proteins were assessed by qPCR and Western blotting, respectively. Autophagy was inhibited by knockdown of ATG7. Genome-wide transcriptome profiling was performed to determine modulated molecular pathway by XBP1. In vivo XBP1 activation was assessed in transcriptome datasets of fibrotic mouse models and immunohistochemistry of human liver tissues. RESULTS: XBP1 overexpression accompanied both tunicamycin- and culture-based HSC activation. Ectopic overexpression of XBP1 induced fibrogenic gene expression in the HSC lines, which was inhibited by knockdown of ATG7. UPR pathway together with PDGFRB pathway, a hallmark of HSC activation, were induced in transcriptome profiles of XBP1-transduced HSC lines. Some known fibrogenic pathways such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta pathway were not induced, suggesting partial contribution of XBP1 to the entire fibrogenic HSC activation machinery. XBP1 target gene signature defined in our XBP1-overexpressing HSC lines was significantly induced in liver tissue transcriptome profiles of carbon tetrachloride-treated or bile duct-ligated mouse models, and XBP1 and alpha-smooth muscle actin (encoded by ACTA2, another hallmark of HSC activation) were co-localized in human fibrotic liver tissues, collectively supporting involvement of XBP1 in HSC activation and fibrogesis in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: XBP1-mediated UPR is at least partially responsible for fibrogenic HSC activation via autophagy.

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Tricyclic Antidepressants Induce Inactivation of Hepatic Stellate Cell (HSC) Myofibroblasts

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