A new route that regulates the signaling pathways induced by extracellular matrix (ECM) has been discovered by an international team of researchers, affiliated with UNIST. This may serve as a new diagnostic marker and therapeutic target in the fight against chronic liver diseases.
Chronic liver disease is known as the silent killer, as it shows no obvious symptoms until the disease has progressed to an advanced stage. Therefore, making a proper diagnosis in the early stage of disease progression can be a clinical challenge.
HCV Drug Treatment - New Frontiers
Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus. It is primarily spread through blood and blood products, infected needles and from a pregnant mother to baby.
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‘ETP may be developed as a target substance for a specific therapeutic agent for treating patients with chronic liver disease.’
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Led by Professor Jiyoung Park in the School of Life Sciences at UNIST, the research team has discovered that endotrophin (ETP) plays a crucial role in producing a pathological microenvironment in liver tissues of chronic liver disease. ETP is a marker of collagen type VI (COL6) formation, known as the link between obesity and cancer.
"ETP levels in adipose tissues are elevated in obesity or diabetes and are associated with adipose tissue fibrosis, inflammation, and angiogenesis, leading to metabolic dysfunction in adipose tissues and systemic insulin resistance," says Professor Park who first discovered ETP in 2012. "Through the identification of the correlation between ETP and chronic liver disease, this study opened new doors in the fight against liver diseases."
![Liver Cirrhosis]( "Liver Cirrhosis")
Liver cirrhosis is a chronic liver disease that arises due to alcoholism, hepatitis, or other conditions. Liver failure patients are treated with transplantation.
The study reveals ETP plays an important role in the interaction between 'hepatocytes' and 'non-parenchymal cells' in the progression of liver disease, as follows: ? the signaling pathways from ETP kills the hepatocytes, ? the substances from the dead hepatocytes interact with the hepatocytes, ? cause inflammation and make the liver hard. Finally, if the vicious cycle that leads to 'apoptosis - fibrosis - inflammation' continues, and ? chronic liver disease and liver cancer also occur.
In this work, Professor Park and her research team examined the liver tissues from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and found that the presence of ETP in tumor-neighboring regions are strongly associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. Moreover, to assess the direct function of ETP in liver tissues, the research team generated an inducible, liver-specific ETP transgenic mouse (Alb-ETP) and discovered that ETP overexpression is a trigger of liver cancer.
"Therapeutic antibodies that inhibit the activity of ETP can be used to break the vicious circle that occurs between liver tissue cells," says Professor Park.
"ETP is an extracellular substance that can be easily detected in blood," says Professor Park. "ETP, which appears in the early stage of chronic liver disease, may also serve as an early diagnostic marker."
Source: Eurekalert
Liver Cirrhosis
Liver cirrhosis is a chronic liver disease that arises due to alcoholism, hepatitis, or other conditions. Liver failure patients are treated with transplantation.
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The study reveals ETP plays an important role in the interaction between 'hepatocytes' and 'non-parenchymal cells' in the progression of liver disease, as follows: ? the signaling pathways from ETP kills the hepatocytes, ? the substances from the dead hepatocytes interact with the hepatocytes, ? cause inflammation and make the liver hard. Finally, if the vicious cycle that leads to 'apoptosis - fibrosis - inflammation' continues, and ? chronic liver disease and liver cancer also occur.
In this work, Professor Park and her research team examined the liver tissues from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and found that the presence of ETP in tumor-neighboring regions are strongly associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. Moreover, to assess the direct function of ETP in liver tissues, the research team generated an inducible, liver-specific ETP transgenic mouse (Alb-ETP) and discovered that ETP overexpression is a trigger of liver cancer.
"Therapeutic antibodies that inhibit the activity of ETP can be used to break the vicious circle that occurs between liver tissue cells," says Professor Park.
"ETP is an extracellular substance that can be easily detected in blood," says Professor Park. "ETP, which appears in the early stage of chronic liver disease, may also serve as an early diagnostic marker."
Source: Eurekalert
Test Your Knowledge on Liver Cancer
Primary hepatocellular carcinoma is a cancer that starts in the liver. The liver is the largest organ in the body situated in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen. The liver is also a common site for cancer deposits (metastases) from other organs. This is referred to as secondary liver cancer and is more common than primary liver cancer.
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 Why is It That Alcohol Use Medications are Not Given to Chronic Liver Disease Patients?Through this study, the researchers are justifying the need for chronic liver disease patients to use Alcohol use medications. Even these patients with the advanced liver disease should receive treatment for the alcohol-use disorder. | Advertisement
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