Pluripotent-Stem-Cell-Derived Hepatic Cells: Hepatocytes and Organoids for Liver Therapy and Regeneration

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Pluripotent-Stem-Cell-Derived Hepatic Cells: Hepatocytes and Organoids for Liver Therapy and Regeneration cells Review Pluripotent-Stem-Cell-Derived Hepatic Cells: Hepatocytes and Organoids for Liver Therapy and Regeneration Antonietta Messina 1,2,3 , Eléanor Luce 1,2,3, Marwa Hussein 1,2,3 and Anne Dubart-Kupperschmitt 1,2,3,* 1 INSERM unité mixte de recherche (UMR_S) 1193, F-94800 Villejuif, France; [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (E.L.); [email protected] (M.H.) 2 UMR_S 1193, Université Paris-Sud/Paris-Saclay, F-94800 Villejuif, France 3 Département Hospitalo-Universitaire (DHU) Hépatinov, F-94800 Villejuif, France * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +33-145595138 Received: 30 November 2019; Accepted: 10 February 2020; Published: 12 February 2020 Abstract: The liver is a very complex organ that ensures numerous functions; it is thus susceptible to multiple types of damage and dysfunction. Since 1983, orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) has been considered the only medical solution available to patients when most of their liver function is lost. Unfortunately, the number of patients waiting for OLT is worryingly increasing, and extracorporeal liver support devices are not yet able to counteract the problem. In this review, the current and expected methodologies in liver regeneration are briefly analyzed. In particular, human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) as a source of hepatic cells for liver therapy and regeneration are discussed. Principles of hPSC differentiation into hepatocytes are explored, along with the current limitations that have led to the development of 3D culture systems and organoid production. Expected applications of these organoids are discussed with particular attention paid to bio artificial liver (BAL) devices and liver bio-fabrication. Keywords: liver regeneration; human pluripotent stem cells; hepatocyte-like cells; cell transplantation; liver organoids; cell therapy; bio artificial liver devices; liver bio-fabrication; organ bioengineering 1. Introduction The liver is one of the most complex organs in the human body in terms of quantity and variety of functions. Defined as an exocrine and endocrine gland and as an organ, it is connected to the digestive system and performs numerous functions useful not only for the digestion of food but also for the defense of the body and the elimination of toxic substances. It is composed of different cell types including, at least, hepatocytes, biliary epithelial cells (cholangiocytes), stellate cells, Kupffer cells, and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells. Each of these cell types possesses unique functions, and their cooperation regulates hepatic function at multiple levels. The hepatocytes, in particular, represent 80% of the adult organ mass and perform almost all the functions related to its metabolic activity. Due to their high regeneration ability, these cells allow for the repair of damaged areas of the tissue, for example after restricted injury or surgery. However, the liver can indeed be damaged by viral infections and inherited genetic diseases, but also by an unbalanced life style, an excess of fat in the diet, unregulated alcohol consumption, smoking, drug use, and excess of medication, all inevitably leading to its dysfunction. Long-term damage can result in the loss of hepatocyte functions, which impacts liver regeneration ability. Liver damage may evolve as acute or chronic liver failure. Acute liver failure (ALF) occurs rapidly and can be due to any of the following: viral infections, such as hepatitis B (5%) or C Cells 2020, 9, 420; doi:10.3390/cells9020420 www.mdpi.com/journal/cells Cells 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 22 Cells 2020, 9, 420 2 of 22 Acute liver failure (ALF) occurs rapidly and can be due to any of the following: viral infections, such as hepatitis B (5%) or C (12%); drug overdose or individual toxicity of medications (2.4%); metabolic (12%);disorders, drug such overdose as Wilson’s or individual disease toxicity (1%); of autoi medicationsmmune (2.4%);diseases metabolic (2%); and disorders, toxin exposure such as Wilson’s (4.4%). diseaseChronic (1%); liver autoimmune failure (CLF) diseasesis a life-threatening (2%); and toxin emergency exposure that (4.4%). passes Chronic through liver at least failure four (CLF) stages: is (i) a life-threateninginflammation; emergency(ii) fibrosis, that when passes healthy through tissue at least in inflamed four stages: liver (i) inflammation;is replaced by (ii) scar fibrosis, tissue; when (iii) healthycirrhosis, tissue in which in inflamed scars livercan isprevent replaced some by scar of the tissue; liver (iii) functions; cirrhosis, and in which (iv) end-stage scars can prevent liver disease some of(ESLD) the liver and/or functions; cancer. and CLF (iv) is end-stage generally liver the result disease of (ESLD) hepatitis and B/ oror cancer.C infection CLF (22%), is generally alcohol-related the result ofliver hepatitis diseases B or (19%), C infection nonalcoholic (22%), alcohol-related fatty liver di liversease, diseases genetic (19%), or autoimmune nonalcoholic fattyhepatitis liver (6%), disease, or geneticdiseases or that autoimmune affect the hepatitisbile duct (6%), system or diseases(14%). Antiviral that affect medications the bile duct and system immune (14%). suppressing Antiviral medicationsmedications andare available immune today suppressing to treat medications early stages areof liver available failure; today nonetheles to treats, earlycirrhosis stages is often of liver not failure;reversible nonetheless, and can be cirrhosis only slowed is often or not stopped. reversible Unfort andunately, can be onlywhen slowed ESLD oris reached, stopped. the Unfortunately, loss of liver whenfunctions ESLD is is too reached, important, the loss and of decompensation liver functions is in too other important, organs and and systems decompensation arises, including in other organshepatic andencephalopathy, systems arises, variceal including bleeding, hepatic kidney encephalopathy, impairment variceal, ascites, bleeding, and other kidney lung impairment,issues [1,2]. In ascites, these andcases, other the lungonly issuescurative [1, 2treatment]. In these is cases, liver transplantation the only curative [3]. treatment It is well-known is liver transplantation that the principal [3]. issue It is well-knownin liver transplantation that the principal is the issue shortage in liver of transplantation donors. In this is review, the shortage we present of donors. the Incurrent this review, available we presentmethodologies the current in liver available regeneration methodologies and the in new liver to regenerationols developed and during the new the tools last developeddecade (Figure during 1), thewith last the decade aim to (Figure discuss1 ),their with advantages the aim to and discuss weaknesses. their advantages In particular, and weaknesses.special attention In particular, is given to specialliver organoids, attention 3D is given structures to liver generally organoids, obtained 3D structures after differentiation generally obtained of human after pluripotent differentiation stem cells of human(hPSCs) pluripotent and able to stem reproduce cells (hPSCs) at least andone ableof the to native reproduce organ at functions. least one ofDespite the native the promising organ functions. results Despiteobtained the both promising in vitro resultsand in obtainedpre-clinical both trials,in vitro improvementsand in pre-clinical still need trials, to be improvements done on hPSC-derived still need tocells be doneand onorganoids. hPSC-derived However, cells andphysicians organoids. and However, researchers physicians are counting and researchers on these are new counting tools onfor theseimproving new tools organ for transplantation improving organ and transplantation for the developme and fornt theof new development therapies, of with new a therapies, special focus with on a specialpersonalized focus on medicine. personalized medicine. FigureFigure 1.1. SchematicSchematic timelinetimeline ofof liverliver therapytherapy andand regenerationregeneration approachesapproaches andand techniquestechniques [[4–17].4–17]. OLT:OLT: orthotopic orthotopic liver liver transplantation; transplantation; PHHs: PHHs:primary primary humanhuman hepatocytes;hepatocytes; AL:AL: artificialartificial liver;liver; iPSCs:iPSCs: inducedinduced pluripotent pluripotent stem stem cells; cells; LPC: LPC: liver liver progenitor progenitor cells; cells; BAL: BAL: bio bio artificial artificial liver. liver. 2. Liver Therapy and Regeneration Approaches: Pros and Cons 2. Liver Therapy and Regeneration Approaches: Pros and Cons 2.1. Orthotopic Liver Transplantation (OLT) 2.1. Orthotopic Liver Transplantation (OLT) Since 1983, orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) has been considered the only medical solution availableSince to 1983, patients orthotopic with liver liver failure. transplantation Most transplants (OLT) involvehas been the considered whole organ; the however,only medical partial solution liver transplantationavailable to patients has been with performed liver failure. with Most increasing transplants frequency involve in recent the whole years, potentiallyorgan; however, allowing partial for theliver treatment transplantation of multiple has patients been performed from one donor.with incr Interestingly,easing frequency it has been in rece recordednt years, that potentially the age of transplantedallowing for patientsthe treatment has increased of multiple consistently patients infrom the one last donor. decade Interestingly, all over Europe it has as well been as recorded the age ofthat the
Recommended publications
  • The Molecular Basis of Amphibian Limb Regeneration: Integrating the Old with the New David M
    seminars in CELL & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY, Vol. 13, 2002: pp. 345–352 doi:10.1016/S1084–9521(02)00090-3, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on The molecular basis of amphibian limb regeneration: integrating the old with the new David M. Gardiner∗, Tetsuya Endo and Susan V. Bryant Is regeneration close to revealing its secrets? Rapid advances classical studies to guide the identification of the in technology and genomic information, coupled with several functions of this large set of genes. useful models to dissect regeneration, suggest that we soon The challenge of understanding the mechanisms may be in a position to encourage regeneration and enhanced controlling the biology of complex systems is hardly repair processes in humans. unique to regeneration biology. In recent years, techniques have become available to identify all the Key words: limb / regeneration / pattern formation / molecular components of a system, and to study the urodele / fibroblast / dedifferentiation / stem cells interactions between those components. Key to the success of such an approach is the ability to identify © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. the molecules, while at the same time having an un- derstanding of the cell and tissue level properties of the system. The goal of this reviewis to discuss key insights from the classical literature as well as more recent molecular findings. We focus on three criti- Introduction cally important cell types: fibroblasts, epidermis and nerves. Each of these is necessary, and together they The study of amphibian limb regeneration has a rich are sufficient for the regeneration of a limb. Although experimental history.
    [Show full text]
  • The Legacy of Larval Infection on Immunological Dynamics Over Royalsocietypublishing.Org/Journal/Rstb Metamorphosis
    The legacy of larval infection on immunological dynamics over royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rstb metamorphosis Justin T. Critchlow†, Adriana Norris† and Ann T. Tate Research Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA ATT, 0000-0001-6601-0234 Cite this article: Critchlow JT, Norris A, Tate AT. 2019 The legacy of larval infection on Insect metamorphosis promotes the exploration of different ecological niches, immunological dynamics over metamorphosis. as well as exposure to different parasites, across life stages. Adaptation should favour immune responses that are tailored to specific microbial threats, with Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 374: 20190066. the potential for metamorphosis to decouple the underlying genetic or phys- http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0066 iological basis of immune responses in each stage. However, we do not have a good understanding of how early-life exposure to parasites influences Accepted: 16 May 2019 immune responses in subsequent life stages. Is there a developmental legacy of larval infection in holometabolous insect hosts? To address this question, we exposed flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) larvae to a protozoan parasite ‘ One contribution of 13 to a theme issue The that inhabits the midgut of larvae and adults despite clearance during meta- evolution of complete metamorphosis’. morphosis. We quantified the expression of relevant immune genes in the gut and whole body of exposed and unexposed individuals during the Subject Areas: larval, pupal and adult stages. Our results suggest that parasite exposure induces the differential expression of several immune genes in the larval ecology, evolution, immunology stage that persist into subsequent stages. We also demonstrate that immune gene expression covariance is partially decoupled among tissues and life Keywords: stages.
    [Show full text]
  • Unveiling Mesenchymal Stromal Cells' Organizing Function in Regeneration Author List
    Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 16 January 2019 doi:10.20944/preprints201901.0161.v1 Peer-reviewed version available at Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20, 823; doi:10.3390/ijms20040823 1 Unveiling mesenchymal stromal cells’ organizing function in regeneration 2 3 Author list: 4 Peter P. Nimiritsky1,2 #, 5 Roman Yu. Eremichev1 #, 6 Natalia A. Alexandrushkina1,2 #, MD 7 Anastasia Yu. Efimenko1,2, MD, PhD 8 Vsevolod A. Tkachuk1-3, DSc 9 Pavel I. Makarevich* 1,2, MD, PhD 10 11 Author affiliations 12 1 – Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Medical research and education center, 13 Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia 14 2 – Faculty of Medicine, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia 15 3 – Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology, National medical research center of 16 cardiology, Moscow, Russia 17 * corresponding author: [email protected] 18 # - equal contribution 19 20 1 © 2019 by the author(s). Distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY license. Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 16 January 2019 doi:10.20944/preprints201901.0161.v1 Peer-reviewed version available at Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20, 823; doi:10.3390/ijms20040823 21 Abstract 22 Regeneration is a fundamental process much attributed to functions of adult 23 stem cells. In last decades delivery of suspended adult stem cells is widely adopted 24 in regenerative medicine as a leading mean of cell therapy. However, adult stem 25 cells can not complete the task of human body regeneration effectively by 26 themselves as far as they need a receptive microenvironment (the niche) to engraft 27 and perform properly.
    [Show full text]
  • Pharmacological Enhancement of Regeneration-Dependent Regulatory T Cell Recruitment in Zebrafish
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences Article Pharmacological Enhancement of Regeneration-Dependent Regulatory T Cell Recruitment in Zebrafish Stephanie F. Zwi 1, Clarisse Choron 1, Dawei Zheng 2, David Nguyen 1, Yuxi Zhang 1, Camilla Roshal 1, Kazu Kikuchi 2,3,* and Daniel Hesselson 1,3,* 1 Diabetes and Metabolism Division, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia; [email protected] (S.F.Z.); [email protected] (C.C.); [email protected] (D.N.); [email protected] (Y.Z.); [email protected] (C.R.) 2 Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Division, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia; [email protected] 3 St Vincent’s Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia * Correspondence: [email protected] (K.K.); [email protected] (D.H.) Received: 27 September 2019; Accepted: 15 October 2019; Published: 19 October 2019 Abstract: Regenerative capacity varies greatly between species. Mammals are limited in their ability to regenerate damaged cells, tissues and organs compared to organisms with robust regenerative responses, such as zebrafish. The regeneration of zebrafish tissues including the heart, spinal cord and retina requires foxp3a+ zebrafish regulatory T cells (zTregs). However, it remains unclear whether the muted regenerative responses in mammals are due to impaired recruitment and/or function of homologous mammalian regulatory T cell (Treg) populations. Here, we explore the possibility of enhancing zTreg recruitment with pharmacological interventions using the well-characterized zebrafish tail amputation model to establish a high-throughput screening platform. Injury-infiltrating zTregs were transgenically labelled to enable rapid quantification in live animals.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of Regeneration – Where Does That Leave Mammals? MALCOLM MADEN*
    Int. J. Dev. Biol. 62: 369-372 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180031mm www.intjdevbiol.com The evolution of regeneration – where does that leave mammals? MALCOLM MADEN* Department of Biology & UF Genetics Institute, University of Florida, USA ABSTRACT This brief review considers the question of why some animals can regenerate and oth- ers cannot and elaborates the opposing views that have been expressed in the past on this topic, namely that regeneration is adaptive and has been gained or that it is a fundamental property of all organisms and has been lost. There is little empirical evidence to support either view, but some of the best comes from recent phylogenetic analyses of regenerative ability in Planarians which reveals that this property has been lost and gained several times in this group. In addition, a non- regenerating species has been induced to regenerate by altering only one signaling pathway. Ex- trapolating this to mammals it may be the case that there is more regenerative ability in mammals than has typically been thought to exist and that inducing regeneration in humans may not be as impossible as it may seem. The regenerative abilities of mammals is described and it turns out that there are several examples of classical epimorphic regeneration involving a blastema as exemplified by the regenerating Urodele limb that can be seen in mammals. Even the heart can regenerate in mammals which has long been considered to be a property unique to Urodeles and fish and several recent examples of regeneration have come from recent studies of the spiny mouse, Acomys, which are discussed here.
    [Show full text]
  • Regrowing Human Limbs
    MEDICINE Regrowing Human Limbs Progress on the road to regenerating major body parts, salamander-style, could transform the treatment of amputations and major wounds 56 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN © 2008 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC. April 2008 Regrowing Human Limbs By Ken Muneoka, Manjong Han and David M. Gardiner salamander’s limbs are smaller and a of a salamander, but soon afterward the human bit slimier than those of most people, and amphibian wound-healing strategies diverge. Abut otherwise they are not that differ- Ours results in a scar and amounts to a failed ent from their human counterparts. The sala- regeneration response, but several signs indicate mander limb is encased in skin, and inside it is that humans do have the potential to rebuild composed of a bony skeleton, muscles, liga- complex parts. The key to making that happen ments, tendons, nerves and blood vessels. A will be tapping into our latent abilities so that loose arrangement of cells called fibroblasts our own wound healing becomes more salaman- holds all these internal tissues together and derlike. For this reason, our research first gives the limb its shape. focused on the experts to learn how it is done. Yet a salamander’s limb is unique in the world of vertebrates in that it can regrow from a stump Lessons from the Salamander after an amputation. An adult salamander can When the tiny salamander limb is amputated, regenerate a lost arm or leg this way over and blood vessels in the remaining stump contract over again, regardless of how many times the quickly, so bleeding is limited, and a layer of skin part is amputated.
    [Show full text]
  • Mft•] ~;;I~ [I) I~ T?L3 ·Ilr!F·S; [,J ~ M
    Mft•] ~;;I~ [I) I~ t?l3 ·ilr!f·S; [,j ~ M Hepatobiliary Imaging Update Maggie Chester and Jerry Glowniak Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon and the gallbladder ejection fraction (EF) after the injection This is the first article in a four-part series on interventional of cholecystokinin (CCK) (Kinevac®, Squibb Diagnostics, nuclear medicine. Upon completion, the nuclear medicine New Brunswick, NJ). A brief description of the hepatic ex­ technologist should be able to (1) list the advantages of using traction fraction (HEF) was given; the technique used quan­ interventional hepatic imaging, (2) identify the benefit in tifies hepatocyte function more accurately than does excretion calculating HEF, and (3) utilize the HEF calculation method when appropriate. half-time. Since publication of the previous article (5), the HEF has become more widely used as a measure of hepatocyte function, and nearly all the major nuclear medicine software vendors include programs for calculating the HEF. Scintigraphic assessment of hepatobiliary function began in In this article, we will describe new observations and meth­ the 1950s with the introduction of iodine-131 C31 1) Rose ods used in hepatobiliary imaging. The following topics will bengal (1). Due to the poor imaging characteristics of 1311, be discussed: ( 1) the use of morphine as an aid in the diagnosis numerous attempts were made to find a technetium-99m 99 of acute cholecystitis, (2) the rim sign in the diagnosis of acute ( mTc) labeled hepatobiliary agent (2). The most useful of cholecystitis, and (3) methods for calculating the HEF. the several 99mTc-labeled agents that were investigated were the iminodiacetic acid (IDA) analogs, which were introduced MORPHINE-AUGMENTED CHOLESCINTIGRAPHY in the mid 1970s (3).
    [Show full text]
  • Suppression of Hepatocyte CYP1A2 Expression by Kupffer Cells Via Ahr Pathway: the Central Role of Proinflammatory Cytokines
    339-346 29/6/06 12:40 Page 339 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE 18: 339-346, 2006 339 Suppression of hepatocyte CYP1A2 expression by Kupffer cells via AhR pathway: The central role of proinflammatory cytokines RONGQIAN WU1, XIAOXUAN CUI1, WEIFENG DONG1, MIAN ZHOU1, H. HANK SIMMS2 and PING WANG1 1Department of Surgery, North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA Received February 6, 2006; Accepted March 23, 2006 Abstract. The hepatic cytochrome P-450 (CYP) enzyme such downregulation. Inhibition of proinflammatory cytokines system provides a major aspect of liver function, yet alterations by curcumin may provide a novel approach to modulate the of CYP in sepsis remain largely unknown. Although we have hepatic CYP function in sepsis. recently shown that CYP1A2, one of the major isoforms of CYP in rats, is downregulated in sepsis, the underlying mech- Introduction anism and possible therapeutic approaches warrant further investigation. The aim of this study was to determine whether Sepsis is the leading cause of death in non-cardiac intensive Kupffer cells (KCs) play any role in suppressing CYP1A2 in care units with >210,000 people succumbing to overwhelming the hepatocytes (HCs) and if so, how to modulate CYP1A2 infection (or the resultant multiple organ failure) in the US expression in sepsis. To study this, primary KCs and HCs annually (1). Although experimental studies using cell and were cultured separately or together with or without transwells. animal models have greatly improved our understanding of Cells and supernatant samples were collected after various the pathophysiology of sepsis, there remains a remarkable stimulations.
    [Show full text]
  • Views Neuroscience, 4(9), 703–713
    Delayed Developmental Loss of Regeneration in Xenopus laevis tadpoles A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science In the department of Biological Sciences of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences by Justin Y. He B.S. Biology, University of the Pacific Committee: Dr. Daniel Buchholz- Chair Dr. Ed Griff Dr. Josh Benoit March 2021 i Abstract: The prospect of spinal cord regeneration in humans is an exciting medical advance, but one that remains elusive from the complicated cellular and molecular mechanisms that prevent regeneration from happening. Various model organisms that do possess regenerative ability have been studied in hopes of understanding how spinal cord regeneration can be facilitated in humans. Recent studies in non-regenerative mammalian organisms however have uncovered the role of T3 signaling pathways in inhibiting regenerative capacity. These previous studies have shown inhibition of T3 in-vitro and in-vivo in various model organisms has increased the capacity for regeneration even in organisms that typically do not have such an ability. My dissertation provides a broad examination of previous literature exploring the barriers to regeneration in a wide range of model organisms, as well as potential therapeutic targets for inducing regeneration. Here, I also show how inhibition of T3 in X. laevis tadpoles allows for increased functional recovery from spinal cord transection. ii © Copyright by Justin He 2021 All Rights Reserved iii Acknowledgements As I conclude my studies at UC in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, thank you to all of my friends, colleagues, and family for their love and support in these hectic times.
    [Show full text]
  • Hepatocyte Growth Factor Signaling Pathway As a Potential Target in Ductal Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas
    JOP. J Pancreas (Online) 2017 Nov 30; 18(6):448-457. REVIEW ARTICLE Hepatocyte Growth Factor Signaling Pathway as a Potential Target in Ductal Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas Samra Gafarli, Ming Tian, Felix Rückert Department of Surgery, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany ABSTRACT Hepatocyte growth factor is an important cellular signal pathway. The pathway regulates mitogenesis, morphogenesis, cell migration, invasiveness and survival. Hepatocyte growth factor acts through activation of tyrosine kinase receptor c-Met (mesenchymal epithelial transition factor) as the only known ligand. Despite the fact that hepatocyte growth factor is secreted only by mesenchymal origin cells, the targets of this multifunctional pathway are cells of mesenchymal as well as epithelial origin. Besides its physiological role recent evidences suggest that HGF/c-Met also plays a role in tumor pathophysiology. As a “scatter factor” hepatocyte growth factor stimulates cancer cell migration, invasion and subsequently promote metastases. Hepatocyte growth factor further is involved in desmoplastic reaction and consequently indorse chemo- and radiotherapy resistance. Explicitly, this pathway seems to mediate cancer cell aggressiveness and to correlate with poor prognosis and survival rate. Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma is a carcinoma with high aggressiveness and metastases rate. Latest insights show that the HGF/c-Met signal pathway might play an important role in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma pathophysiology. In the present review, we highlight the role of HGF/c-Met pathway in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with focus on its effect on cellular pathophysiology and discuss its role as a potential therapeutic target in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. INTRODUCTION activation causes auto-phosphorylation of c-Met and subsequent activation of downstream signaling pathways Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a multifunctional such as mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), gene.
    [Show full text]
  • Hepatic Toxicity
    Hepatic Toxicity MSc in Molecular Pathology and Toxicology 2001 Andy Smith MRC Toxicology Unit THE LIVER • The liver constitutes about 5% of the body mass of a rodent or human. • It has many functions eg. Carbohydrate storage and metabolism Synthesis of fibrinogen and albumin etc. Fat metabolism Synthesis of bile acids Metabolism of hormones Formation of urea from amino acids • Blood supply is about 20% arterial-80% venous. • May contain 10-15% of blood volume INFLUENCE OF TOXIC CHEMICALS ON THE LIVER • The liver is the most common site of damage in laboratory animals administered drugs and other chemicals. There are many reasons including the fact that the liver is the first major organ to be exposed to ingested chemicals due to its portal blood supply. • Although chemicals are delivered to the liver to be metabolized and excreted, this can frequently lead to activation and liver injury. • Study of the liver has been and continues to be important in understanding fundamental molecular mechanisms of toxicity as well as in assessment of risks to humans. VENA CAVA HEPATIC VEIN LIVER HEPATIC PORTAL VEIN BILE DUCT SMALL AND LARGE INTESTINE LOBULE PORTAL VEIN BLOOD FLOW HEPATIC ARTERY III I BILE FLOW BILE DUCT CENTRAL VEIN PORTAL TRIAD TYPES OF LIVER CELLS Hepatocytes- Not all the same; depends on lobular site Zone I Higher in respiratory enzymes (periportal) Zone III Higher in cytochrome P450 (centrilobular) Endothelial cells Bile duct cells Oval cells- Possibly stem cells Kupffer cells- Phagocytic cells Important role in inflammation Ito cells- Fat storing or stellate cells TYPES OF HEPATIC INJURY OR RESPONSES Each of the different cell types may respond to a toxic insult.
    [Show full text]
  • Alcohol and Hepatocyte-Kupffer Cell Interaction (Review)
    MOLECULAR MEDICINE REPORTS 4: 597-602, 2011 Alcohol and hepatocyte-Kupffer cell interaction (Review) MICHAEL AJAKAIYE, ASHA JACOB, RONGQIAN WU, JEFFREY M. NICASTRO, GENE F. COPPA and PING WANG Department of Surgery, North Shore University Hospital-Long Island Jewish Medical Center, and Laboratory of Surgical Research, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA Received December 15, 2010; Accepted March 23, 2011 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2011.471 Abstract. Alcoholic liver disease accounts for 12,000 deaths 1. Introduction per year in the United States and is the second leading indica- tion for liver transplantation. It covers a spectrum of disease … if the surfeit of delicacies, or the hereditary wine conditions ranging from steatosis and cirrhosis to hepatic of my country dared to disturb my health or the malignancies. Epidemiological data clearly show a strong equilibrium of my poetry, from you, dark monarch, correlation between alcohol consumption and liver diseases. giver of syrups and of poisons, regulator of salts, A large body of evidence has accumulated over the years in from you I hope for justice: I love life: Do not betray determining the molecular mediators of alcohol-induced liver me! Work on! injury. In this review, we provide an overview of such media- —Pablo Neruda, Oda al Higado (1) tors, which include alcohol metabolites and reactive oxygen/ nitrogen species, endotoxin via bacterial translocation from Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) affects 1% of the North the gut and TNF-α, and highlight the role of the sympathetic American population and accounted for over 12,000 deaths in nervous stimuli, norepinephrine and the α2A-adrenergic 2001.
    [Show full text]