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Osteopontin and HMGB1: novel regulators of HSC activation

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 13, pages 320–322 (2016)Cite this article

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Liver fibrosis, the accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins caused by chronic liver damage, results from the activation of hepatic stellate cells. In a new study, Arriazu et al. explore in detail the mechanisms by which the multifunctional protein osteopontin drives hepatic fibrosis, and show that interaction with HMGB1 mediates the fibrogenic response.

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Figure 1: Proposed mechanism for osteopontin and HMGB1 involvement in liver fibrosis.

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Acknowledgements

L.A.B. is funded by a Newcastle University research fellowship. D.A.M. is funded by a UK Medical Research Council (MRC) grant (MR/K001949/1) and by a NIH grant (AA018663) funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lee A. Borthwick and Derek A. Mann are at the Tissue Fibrosis and Repair Group, Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK.,

    Lee A. Borthwick & Derek A. Mann

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  1. Lee A. Borthwick
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Correspondence to Lee A. Borthwick.

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Competing interests

D.A.M. has acted as a consultant for Abbvie, GlaxoSmithKline and is a scientific advisor for Bird Rock Bio. He has received grant support from Abbvie and GlaxoSmithKline. L.A.B. declares no competing interests.

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Borthwick, L., Mann, D. Osteopontin and HMGB1: novel regulators of HSC activation. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 13, 320–322 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2016.58

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