title: Discovery of cytoglobin and its roles in physiology and pathology of hepatic stellate cells.
abstract: Cytoglobin (CYGB), a new member of the globin family, was discovered in 2001 as a protein associated with stellate cell activation (stellate cell activation-associated protein [STAP]). Knowledge of CYGB, including its crystal, gene, and protein structures as well as its physiological and pathological importance, has increased progressively. We investigated the roles of oxygen (O2)-binding CYGB as STAP in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) to understand the part played by this protein in their pathophysiological activities. Studies involving CYGB-gene-deleted mice have led us to suppose that CYGB functions as a regulator of O2 homeostasis; when O2 homeostasis is disrupted, HSCs are activated and play a key role(s) in hepatic fibrogenesis. In this review, we discuss the rationale for this hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Academic Advisor Office, PhoenixBio.
authors.forename: Katsutoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshizato
authors.forename: Le Thi Thanh
authors.initials: le TT
authors.lastname: Thuy
authors.forename: Goshi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shiota
authors.forename: Norifumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kawada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D000078842:Cytoglobin; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005914:Globins / Q000378:metabolism*; D055166:Hepatic Stellate Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: C000627265:CYGB protein, human; C000627267:Cygb protein, mouse; D000078842:Cytoglobin; D005914:Globins; D003094:Collagen