Hepatocyte-specific suppression of microRNA-221-3p mitigates liver fibrosis

Liver fibrosis and cirrhosis contribute to more than 1 million deaths per year worldwide [1,2], 170,000 per year in Europe [3] and 33,539 per year in USA [4]. The underlying pathologies leading to fibrosis and subsequently cirrhosis include chronic virus infection, alcoholic steatohepatitis, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis [5]. The manifestation of fibrosis is accompanied by the activation of quiescent hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), accumulation of excessive extra-cellular matrix and hepatocyte dysfunction leading to liver failure [6].

Source: Journal of Hepatology - December 21, 2018 Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Hsin-Chieh Tsay, Qinggong Yuan, Asha Balakrishnan, Marina Kaiser, Selina M öbus, Emilia Kozdrowska, Marwa Farid, Pia-Katharina Tegtmeyer, Katharina Borst, Florian W.R. Vondran, Ulrich Kalinke, Andreas Kispert, Michael P. Manns, Michael Ott, Amar Deep Sha Source Type: research