0000000000336198
AUTHOR
P. Czochra
Liver fibrosis induced by hepatic overexpression of PDGF-B in transgenic mice
Background/Aims In hepatic fibrogenesis, stellate cells are activated leading to production and deposition of extracellular matrix. To clarify the role of PDGF-B in liver fibrogenesis, we overexpressed PDGF-B in the liver of transgenic mice. Methods Transgenic mice for the conditional overexpression of PDGF-B in the liver under control of an albumin promoter were generated utilising the Cre/loxP system. Constitutive PDGF-B expression was achieved after breeding with mice expressing Cre-recombinase under actin promoter control. Tamoxifen inducible expression was achieved after breeding with mice expressing Cre under transthyretin receptor promoter control. Levels of fibrosis were assessed an…
Hepatic over-expression of TGF-beta1 promotes LPS-induced inflammatory cytokine secretion by liver cells and endotoxemic shock.
Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is an important suppressor of inflammation. However, TGF-beta has also been found to promote secretion of inflammatory cytokines, and transgenic mice, which constitutively express TGF-beta in liver, have been found to be more susceptible to endotoxemia. To approach this apparent paradox, we investigated the role of hepatic TGF-beta1 in endotoxemia by utilising inducible TGF-beta1-transgenic mice that express TGF-beta1 under control of the C-reactive protein promoter. In contrast to non-transgenic littermates, administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced strongly increased expression of TGF-beta and acute phase proteins in the TGF-beta1-transg…
TGFbeta regulates the CD4+CD25+ T-cell pool and the expression of Foxp3 in vivo.
Factors influencing the development of CD4+CD25+ T-cells in vivo are poorly understood. In order to investigate the contribution of TGFbeta1 to the development and function of CD4+CD25+ T-cells, we generated a gain of function mutation resulting in the overexpression of an active form of TGFbeta1 in T-cells under control of the human CD2 promoter. In peripheral lymphoid organs and in the thymus, the frequency of CD4+CD25+ T-cells was increased in transgenic mice. This appeared to be due to an autocrine effect of TGFbeta on T-cells, since concomitant impairment of TGFbeta-signaling in double transgenic mice resulted in a phenotype similar to wild type. In contrast, in single transgenic mice …
Spontaneous hepatic fibrosis in transgenic mice overexpressing PDGF-A.
Platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) plays a central role in repair mechanisms after acute and chronic tissue damage. To further evaluate the role of PDGF-A in liver fibrogenesis in vivo, we generated transgenic mice with hepatocyte-specific overexpression of PDGF-A using the CRP-gene promoter. Transgenic but not wildtype mice showed expression of PDGF-A mRNA in the liver. Hepatic PDGF-A overexpression was accompanied by a significant increase in hepatic procollagen III mRNA expression as well as TGF-beta1 expression. Liver histology showed increased deposition of extracellular matrix in transgenic but not in wildtype mice. PDGF-A-transgenic mice showed positive sinusoidal staining for alp…