Handa P, Kowdley KV

Language: English
References: 14
Page: 152-154
PDF size: 65.87 Kb.

Text Extraction

Chronic liver injury is characterized by inflammation and fibrosis. Unresolved progression of fibrosis can lead to hepatocellular carcinoma and end-stage liver disease. Chronic inflammation is often associated with apoptosis and is thought to accelerate steatosis and fibrogenesis. Several immune cell types in the liver such as infiltrating monocytes and resident Kupffer cells have been shown to mediate the propagation of inflammatory insults through production of potent cytokines (such as TNF-α and IL-1β),3 while CD8 T lymphocytes have been shown to promote fibrosis via activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC); by contrast, natural killer (NK) cells have been shown to be inhibitory to fibrosis in some liver injury models. To add to the repertoire of immune cells regulating hepatic injury and fibrogenesis, a recent publication in the Journal of Immunology, has delineated a previously undiscovered role for a chemokine receptor, CXCR6, and its ligand CXCL16, in the hepatic recruitment of NKT cells and promoting liver inflammation and fibrosis.

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