Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) may play an important role in hepatic immune regulation by producing numerous cytokines/chemokines, and expressing Ag-presenting and T cell co-regulatory molecules. Due to disruption of the endothelial barrier during cold-ischemic storage and reperfusion of liver grafts, HSCs can interact directly with cells of the immune system. Endotoxin (LPS), levels of which increase in liver diseases and transplantation, stimulates the synthesis of many mediators by HSCs. We hypothesized that LPS-stimulated HSCs might promote hepatic tolerogenicity by influencing naturally-occurring immunosuppressive CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs). Following their portal venous infusion, allogeneic CD4+ T cells, including Tregs, were found closely associated with HSCs, and this association increased in LPS-treated livers. In vitro, both unstimulated and LPS-stimulated HSCs up-regulated Fas (CD95) expression on conventional CD4+ T cells and induced their apoptosis in a Fas/FasL-dependent manner. By contrast, HSCs induced Treg proliferation, which required cell-cell contact, and was MHC class II-dependent. This effect was augmented when HSCs were pretreated with LPS. LPS increased the expression of MHC class II, CD80 and CD86, and stimulated the production of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10 and TNFα by HSCs. Interestingly, production of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNFα was strongly inhibited, but that of IL-10 enhanced, in LPS-pretreated HSC/Treg co-cultures. Adoptively transferred allogeneic HSCs migrated to the secondary lymphoid tissues and induced Treg expansion in lymph nodes. These data implicate endotoxins-stimulated HSCs as important immune regulators in liver transplantation by inducing selective expansion of tolerance-promoting Tregs, and reducing inflammation and allo-immunity.
BACKGROUND & AIMS Augmenter of liver regeneration (ALR, encoded by GFER) is a widely distributed pleiotropic protein originally identified as a hepatic growth factor. However, little is known about its roles in hepatic physiology and pathology. We created mice with liver-specific deletion of ALR to study its function. METHODS We developed mice with liver-specific deletion of ALR (ALR-L-KO) using the albumin-Cre/LoxP system. Liver tissues were collected from ALR-L-KO mice and ALRfloxed/floxed mice (controls) and analyzed by histology, reverse-transcription PCR, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, and techniques to measure fibrosis and lipids. Liver tissues from patients with and without advanced liver disease were determined by immunoblot analysis. RESULTS Two weeks after birth, livers of ALR-L-KO mice contained low levels of ALR and ATP; they had reduced mitochondrial respiratory function and increased oxidative stress, compared with livers from control mice, and had excessive steatosis, and hepatocyte apoptosis. Levels of carbamyl-palmitoyl transferase 1a and ATP synthase subunit ATP5G1 were reduced in livers of ALR-L-KO mice, indicating defects in mitochondrial fatty acid transport and ATP synthesis. Electron microscopy showed mitochondrial swelling with abnormalities in shapes and numbers of cristae. From weeks 2–4 after birth, levels of steatosis and apoptosis decreased in ALR-L-KO mice, whereas numbers of ALR-expressing cells increased, along with ATP levels. However, at weeks 4–8 after birth, livers became inflamed, with hepatocellular necrosis, ductular proliferation, and fibrosis; hepatocellular carcinoma developed by 1 year after birth in nearly 60% of the mice. Hepatic levels of ALR were also low in ob/ob mice and alcohol-fed mice with liver steatosis, compared with controls. Levels of ALR were lower in liver tissues from patients with advanced alcoholic liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis than in control liver tissues. CONCLUSIONS We developed mice with liver-specific deletion of ALR, and showed that it is required for mitochondrial function and lipid homeostasis in the liver. ALR-L-KO mice provide a useful model for investigating the pathogenesis of steatohepatitis and its complications.
Background & Aims Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) that express glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) are located between the sinusoidal endothelial cells and hepatocytes. HSCs are activated during liver injury and cause hepatic fibrosis by producing excessive extracellular matrix. HSCs also produce many growth factors, chemokines and cytokines, and thus may play an important role in acute liver injury. However, this function has not been clarified due to unavailability of a model in which HSCs are depleted from the normal liver. Methods We treated mice expressing HSV-thymidine kinase under the GFAP promoter (GFAP-Tg) with 3 consecutive (3 days apart) CCl4 (0.16 μl/g; ip) injections to stimulate HSCs to enter the cell cycle and proliferate. This was followed by 10-day ganciclovir (40 μg/g/day; ip) treatment, which is expected to eliminate actively proliferating HSCs. Mice were then subjected to hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) or endotoxin treatment. Results CCl4/ganciclovir treatment caused depletion of the majority of HSCs (about 64-72%), while the liver recovered from the initial CCl4-induced injury (confirmed by histology, serum ALT and neutrophil infiltration). The magnitude of hepatic injury due to I/R or endotoxemia (determined by histopathology and serum ALT) was lower in HSC-depleted mice. Their hepatic expression of TNF-α, neutrophil chemoattractant CXCL1 and endothelin-A receptor also was significantly lower than the control mice. Conclusions HSCs play an important role both in I/R- and endotoxin-induced acute hepatocyte injury, with TNF-α and endothelin-1 as important mediators of these effects.
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