title: Characterization of hepatic stellate cells, portal fibroblasts, and mesothelial cells in normal and fibrotic livers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Contribution of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), portal fibroblasts (PFs), and mesothelial cells (MCs) to myofibroblasts is not fully understood due to insufficient availability of markers and isolation methods. The present study aimed to isolate these cells, characterize their phenotypes, and examine their contribution to myofibroblasts in liver fibrosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Liver fibrosis was induced in Collagen1a1-green fluorescent protein (Col1a1(GFP)) mice by bile duct ligation (BDL), 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine (DDC) diet, or CCl4 injections. Combining vitamin A (VitA) lipid autofluorescence and expression of GFP and glycoprotein M6a (GPM6A), we separated HSCs, PFs, and MCs from normal and fibrotic livers by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Normal Col1a1(GFP) livers broadly expressed GFP in HSCs, PFs, and MCs. Isolated VitA+ HSCs expressed reelin, whereas VitA-GFP+GPM6A- PFs expressed ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase-2 and elastin. VitA-GFP+GPM6A+ MCs expressed keratin 19, mesothelin, and uroplakin 1b. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 treatment induced the transformation of HSCs, PFs, and MCs into myofibroblasts in culture. TGF-β1 suppressed cyclin D1 mRNA expression in PFs but not in HSCs and MCs. In biliary fibrosis, PFs adjacent to the bile duct expressed α-smooth muscle actin. FACS analysis revealed that HSCs are the major source of GFP+ myofibroblasts in the injured Col1a1(GFP) mice after DDC or CCl4 treatment. Although PFs partly contributed to GFP+ myofibroblasts in the BDL model, HSCs were still dominant source of myofibroblasts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HSCs, PFs, and MCs have distinct phenotypes, and PFs partly contribute to myofibroblasts in the portal triad in biliary fibrosis.
authors.affiliation: Southern California Research Center for ALPD and Cirrhosis, Department of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lua
authors.affiliation: Southern California Research Center for ALPD and Cirrhosis, Department of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Yuchang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Developmental Biology, Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Program, Saban Research Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zagory
authors.affiliation: Developmental Biology, Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Program, Saban Research Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kasper S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: French
authors.affiliation: Département de Microbiologie-Infectiologie et d'Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec QC G1V 0A6, Canada; Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec - Université Laval, CHUL, Québec QC G1V 4G2, Canada.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sévigny
authors.affiliation: Southern California Research Center for ALPD and Cirrhosis, Department of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address: asahina@med.usc.edu.
authors.forename: Kinji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asahina
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000473:pathology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D055166:Hepatic Stellate Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008106:Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental / Q000473:pathology*; D000090204:Mesothelin; D051379:Mice; D011169:Portal Vein / Q000473:pathology*; D000091042:Reelin Protein
keywords: Entpd2; Fibrosis; Gpm6a; Mesothelin; Myofibroblasts; Reelin; Uroplakin