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CHRONOBIOLOGY

Liver zonation—a journey through space and time

Nature Metabolism volume 3, pages 7–8 (2021)Cite this article

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Liver function depends on the temporal and zonal distribution of complementary metabolic tasks in hepatocytes. A new study by Droin et al. highlights how chronobiology and liver zonation orchestrate liver metabolism at single-cell resolution.

The mammalian liver architecture consists of a honeycomb-like pattern built by hexagonal functional units termed lobules, which are spatially zonated between the portal and central veins. Hepatocytes alongside the porto-central blood flow line up like workers on an assembly line and fulfil complementary tasks depending on their locations in the different zones of the liver lobule. This zonation is critical for maintaining energy homeostasis, the metabolism of nutrients and xenobiotics, and the production and recycling of various proteins1. In addition, hepatocyte gene expression programs are temporally adjusted to changing metabolic demands during the daily feeding/fasting cycles2,3. Despite the concerted regulation of liver function by these two regulatory mechanisms, combined assessment of both zonation and chronobiology in the liver at single-cell resolution has been lacking.

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Fig. 1: Spatiotemporal distribution of hepatic gene expression.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland

    Stefano Annunziato & Jan S. Tchorz

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  1. Stefano Annunziato
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  2. Jan S. Tchorz
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Correspondence to Jan S. Tchorz.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Annunziato, S., Tchorz, J.S. Liver zonation—a journey through space and time. Nat Metab 3, 7–8 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-00333-z

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