Are Liver Pericytes Just Precursors of Myofibroblasts in Hepatic Diseases? Insights from the Crosstalk between Perivascular and Inflammatory Cells in Liver Injury and Repair

Autor(es)

Meirelles, Lindolfo da Silva ^{[1, 2]} ; Marson, Renan Fava ^[1] ; Gonzalez Solari, Maria Ines ^[3] ; Nardi, Nance Beyer ^[3]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Luterana Brasil, PPGBioSaude, Av Farroupilha 8001, BR-92425900 Canoas, RS - Brazil

^[2] Univ Luterana Brasil, Sch Med, Av Farroupilha 8001, BR-92425900 Canoas, RS - Brazil

^[3] Inst Cardiol Rio Grande Do Sul, Av Princesa Isabel 370, BR-90620001 Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo de Revisão
• Fonte: CELLS; v. 9, n. 1 JAN 2020.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Cirrhosis, a late form of liver disease, is characterized by extensive scarring due to exacerbated secretion of extracellular matrix proteins by myofibroblasts that develop during this process. These myofibroblasts arise mainly from hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), liver-specific pericytes that become activated at the onset of liver injury. Consequently, HSCs tend to be viewed mainly as myofibroblast precursors in a fibrotic process driven by inflammation. Here, the molecular interactions between liver pericytes and inflammatory cells such as macrophages and neutrophils at the first moments after injury and during the healing process are brought into focus. Data on HSCs and pericytes from other tissues indicate that these cells are able to sense pathogen- and damage-associated molecular patterns and have an important proinflammatory role in the initial stages of liver injury. On the other hand, further data suggest that as the healing process evolves, activated HSCs play a role in skewing the initial proinflammatory (M1) macrophage polarization by contributing to the emergence of alternatively activated, pro-regenerative (M2-like) macrophages. Finally, data suggesting that some HSCs activated during liver injury could behave as hepatic progenitor or stem cells will be discussed. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 15/20206-8 - Modulação de monócitos, macrófagos e pericitos pelos genes dos fatores estimuladores de colônia para tratamento de isquemia de membros em modelo murino
• Beneficiário: Sang Won Han
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático