SUMMARY:Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a 38-kd protein involved in several human fibrotic disorders including atherosclerosis and skin and renal fibrosis. Although it has been shown that human and experimental liver fibrosis is associated with CTGF expression through up-regulation of CTGF mRNA by hepatic stellate cells (HSC), the role of CTGF in the liver has not yet been determined. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of CTGF on rat primary HSC and its regulation in a well-established model of in vitro liver fibrogenesis. Incubation of primary HSC with recombinant CTGF induced a significant migratory (2.3-fold, 50 ng/ml CTGF) and proliferative effect (1.8-fold, 100 ng/ml CTGF). Type I collagen mRNA expression, as assessed by a real-time RT-PCR procedure, was also increased when cells were incubated in the presence of CTGF (2-fold, 50 ng/ml). Transforming growth factor-␤1 (TGF-␤1) strongly stimulated CTGF mRNA expression, a direct mechanism observed in the absence of any intermediate protein synthesis. Furthermore, spontaneous activation of HSC plated on plastic and stimulation by vascular endothelial growth factor, lipid peroxidation products (HNE, MDA), acetaldehyde, and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB significantly up-regulated CTGF mRNA expression in HSC. PDGF-induced CTGF stimulation might be related in part to TGF-␤1 secretion because CTGF mRNA up-regulation observed after PDGF-BB stimulation was abrogated in the presence of neutralizing TGF-␤1 antibody. In conclusion, this study extends the role of CTGF in HSC activation and suggests that CTGF up-regulation might be a central pathway during HSC activation. (Lab Invest 2002, 82:767-773).

We have shown that lipid peroxidation stimulates collagen-alpha 1 (I) gene transcription in cultured cells. Because iron is a transitional metal known to induce lipid peroxidation, we investigated whether hepatic lipid peroxidation modulates collagen gene expression in iron-overloaded rats. In this animal model of hemochromatosis, we show colocalization with iron in the hepatic acinar zone 1 of both lipid peroxidation and increased collagen-alpha 1 (I) transcripts, using immunohistochemistry for malondialdehyde-protein adducts and in situ hybridization, respectively. Iron overload stimulated the expression of the cytokine transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) in acinar zone 1, in spite of the minor degree of hepatocellular necrosis and inflammation. The formation of reactive aldehydes and TGF-beta, both inducers of collagen gene expression, may play a role in the stimulation of hepatic collagen production in iron overload. These mechanisms could be a link between iron overload and fibrosis in genetic hemochromatosis.

No abstract