Search results for " FIBROSIS"
showing 10 items of 490 documents
MRI of the pulmonary parenchyma.
1999
Imaging of the pulmonary parenchyma represents a unique challenge for MRI. Limited signal is caused by low proton density, susceptibility artifacts, and physiological motion (cardiac pulsation, respiration). Recently, further improvements in MRI techniques have widened the potential for investigations of pulmonary parenchymal disease. These include very short echo times, ultrafast turbo-spin-echo acquisitions, projection reconstruction technique, breathhold imaging, ECG triggering, contrast agents (perfusion imaging, aerosols), sodium imaging, hyperpolarized noble gas imaging, and oxygen enhancement. By using widely available techniques, MRI is helpful in the assessment of (a) acute alveoli…
DPP-4 is overexpressed in lung tissue from idiopathic pulmonary patients and activates lung fibroblasts
2020
Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and irreversible form of fibrotic interstitial lung disease, characterized by uncontrolled fibroblast invasion. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4)/ glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) system is involved in multiple effects, including cardiac, liver or kidney fibrosis. However, its implication in IPF has not been described. Objective: To analyse the implication of DPP4/GLP1 system in IPF. Methods: Protein expression of DPP4, GLP-1 and GLP-1 receptor was analyzed in lung tissues from 7 IPF patients. TGFβ1-induced fibroblast to myofibroblast transition (FMT), epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and mesothelial to mesenchymal trans…
Is the Macrophage Phenotype Determinant for Fibrosis Development?
2021
Fibrosis is a pathophysiological process of wound repair that leads to the deposit of connective tissue in the extracellular matrix. This complication is mainly associated with different pathologies affecting several organs such as lung, liver, heart, kidney, and intestine. In this fibrotic process, macrophages play an important role since they can modulate fibrosis due to their high plasticity, being able to adopt different phenotypes depending on the microenvironment in which they are found. In this review, we will try to discuss whether the macrophage phenotype exerts a pivotal role in the fibrosis development in the most important fibrotic scenarios.
RNF2 Mediates Hepatic Stellate Cells Activation by Regulating ERK/p38 Signaling Pathway in LX-2 Cells
2021
The therapeutic approach of liver fibrosis is still an unsolved clinical problem worldwide. Notably, the accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) in the liver is mediated by the production of cytokines and growth factors, such as transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Ring finger protein 2 (RNF2) was identified as the catalytic subunit of polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1), mediating the monoubiquitination of histone H2A. In recent years, a growing amount of evidence suggests that RNF2 may play an important role in multiple pathological processes involved in cancer. Here, we explored the role of RNF2 in liver fibrogenesis and its potential mechanisms. T…
Heat shock proteins in fibrosis and wound healing: Good or evil?
2014
Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are key regulators of cell homeostasis, and their cytoprotective role has been largely investigated in the last few decades. However, an increasing amount of evidence highlights their deleterious effects on several human pathologies, including cancer, in which they promote tumor cell survival, proliferation and drug resistance. Therefore, HSPs have recently been suggested as therapeutic targets for improving human disease outcomes. Fibrotic diseases and cancer share several properties; both pathologies are characterized by genetic alterations, uncontrolled cell proliferation, altered cell interactions and communication and tissue invasion. The discovery of new HSP…
Low 25-OH vitamin D serum levels correlate with severe fibrosis in HIV-HCV co-infected patients with chronic hepatitis.
2010
Background & Aims Recent findings in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-monoinfected patients have shown a correlation between low serum levels of 25-OH vitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] and severe liver fibrosis and low sustained virologic response to therapy. Data are lacking in HIV-HCV coinfected patients. Methods One hundred and eighty nine HIV-HCV coinfected patients, who received ⩾80% of interferon (IFN) plus ribavirin therapy, were analyzed for baseline serum 25(OH)D3 levels. Correlations between serum 25(OH)D3 levels, chronic hepatitis C features, HCV virologic response to antiviral therapy, and HIV infection characteristics were analyzed. Results Mean serum 25(OH)D3 level was 18.5±9.8ng/ml, including 162…
Neurotensin up-regulation is associated with advanced fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with MAFLD
2020
Background & aims: Neurotensin (NTS), a 13-aminoacid peptide localized in central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract, is involved in lipid metabolism and promotes various cancers onset mainly by binding to neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1). Increased plasma levels of pro-NTS, the stable NTS precursor, have been associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D), cardiovascular diseases and metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). We aimed to evaluate 1) the impact of NTS rs1800832 and NTSR1 rs6090453 genetic variants on liver damage in 1166 MAFLD European individuals, 2) the relation between NTS variant and circulating pro-NTS and 3) the hepatic NTS expression by RNAseq transcriptomic a…
Genetic association analysis identifies variants associated with disease progression in primary sclerosing cholangitis
2018
ObjectivePrimary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a genetically complex, inflammatory bile duct disease of largely unknown aetiology often leading to liver transplantation or death. Little is known about the genetic contribution to the severity and progression of PSC. The aim of this study is to identify genetic variants associated with PSC disease progression and development of complications.DesignWe collected standardised PSC subphenotypes in a large cohort of 3402 patients with PSC. After quality control, we combined 130 422 single nucleotide polymorphisms of all patients—obtained using the Illumina immunochip—with their disease subphenotypes. Using logistic regression and Cox proportiona…
Identification of periplakin as a major regulator of lung injury and repair in mice
2018
IF 12.784 (2016); International audience; Periplakin is a component of the desmosomes that acts as a cytolinker between intermediate filament scaffolding and the desmosomal plaque. Periplakin is strongly expressed by epithelial cells in the lung and is a target antigen for autoimmunity in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The aim of this study was to determine the role of periplakin during lung injury and remodeling in a mouse model of lung fibrosis induced by bleomycin. We found that periplakin expression was downregulated in the whole lung and in alveolar epithelial cells following bleomycin-induced injury. Deletion of the Ppl gene in mice improved survival and reduced lung fibrosis developm…
Lean NAFLD: A Distinct Entity Shaped by Differential Metabolic Adaptation
2020
Background and Aims: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects a quarter of the adult population. A significant subset of patients are lean, but their underlying pathophysiology is not well understood. Approach and Results: We investigated the role of bile acids (BAs) and the gut microbiome in the pathogenesis of lean NAFLD. BA and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 19 levels (a surrogate for intestinal farnesoid X receptor [FXR] activity), patatin-like phospholipase domain containing 3 (PNPLA3), and transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2) variants, and gut microbiota profiles in lean and nonlean NAFLD were investigated in a cohort of Caucasian patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD (n …