Role of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells in liver diseases.
Jordi Gracia-SanchoEsther CaparrósAnabel Fernández-IglesiasRubén FrancésPublished in: Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology (2021)
Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) form the wall of the hepatic sinusoids. Unlike other capillaries, they lack an organized basement membrane and have cytoplasm that is penetrated by open fenestrae, making the hepatic microvascular endothelium discontinuous. LSECs have essential roles in the maintenance of hepatic homeostasis, including regulation of the vascular tone, inflammation and thrombosis, and they are essential for control of the hepatic immune response. On a background of acute or chronic liver injury, LSECs modify their phenotype and negatively affect neighbouring cells and liver disease pathophysiology. This Review describes the main functions and phenotypic dysregulations of LSECs in liver diseases, specifically in the context of acute injury (ischaemia-reperfusion injury, drug-induced liver injury and bacterial and viral infection), chronic liver disease (metabolism-associated liver disease, alcoholic steatohepatitis and chronic hepatotoxic injury) and hepatocellular carcinoma, and provides a comprehensive update of the role of LSECs as therapeutic targets for liver disease. Finally, we discuss the open questions in the field of LSEC pathobiology and future avenues of research.
Keyphrases
- drug induced
- liver injury
- endothelial cells
- immune response
- liver failure
- minimally invasive
- oxidative stress
- adverse drug
- acute myocardial infarction
- induced apoptosis
- hepatitis b virus
- heart failure
- intensive care unit
- acute ischemic stroke
- cerebral ischemia
- extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
- toll like receptor
- cell proliferation
- atrial fibrillation
- acute coronary syndrome
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- liver fibrosis