Hepatic fibrosis--role of hepatic stellate cell activation.
Hepatic fibrosis is a reversible wound healing response characterized by accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM), or "scar," that follows chronic but not self-limited liver disease. The ECM components in fibrotic liver are similar regardless of the underlying cause. Activation of hepatic stellate cells is the central event in hepatic fibrosis. These perisinusoidal cells orchestrate an array of changes including degradation of the normal ECM of liver, deposition of scar molecules, vascular and organ contraction, and release of cytokines. Not only is hepatic fibrosis reversible, but it is also increasingly clear that cirrhosis may be reversible as well. The exact stage at which fibrosis/cirrhosis becomes truly irreversible is not known. Antifibrotic therapies will soon be a clinical reality. Emerging therapies will be targeted to those patients with reversible disease. The paradigm of stellate cell activation provides an important framework for defining therapeutic targets.
Safadi
Rifaat
R
Faculty, Hebrew University School of Medicine, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Friedman
Scott L
SL
D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents