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An autocrine signaling circuit in hepatic stellate cells underlies advanced fibrosis in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

ABSTRACT: Advanced hepatic fibrosis, driven by the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), affects millions world-wide and is the strongest predictor of mortality in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), yet there are no approved anti-fibrotic therapies. To identify novel anti-fibrotic drug targets, we integrated progressive transcriptomic and morphological responses that accompany HSC activation in advanced disease using single nuclear RNA sequencing and tissue clearing in a robust, murine NASH model. In advanced fibrosis, an autocrine HSC signaling circuit emerges that is comprised of 68 receptor-ligand interactions conserved between murine and human NASH. These predicted interactions are supported by the parallel appearance of markedly increased direct stellate cell-cell contacts in murine NASH. As proof of principle, pharmacological inhibition of one such autocrine interaction, NTRK3-NTF3, inhibits human HSC activation in culture and reverses advanced murine NASH-fibrosis in vivo. We have uncovered a novel repertoire of previously uncharacterized anti-fibrotic drug targets underlying advanced fibrosis in vivo. The findings suggest a novel therapeutic paradigm in which stage-specific therapies could yield enhanced anti-fibrotic efficacy in patients with advanced fibrosis.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE212837 | GEO | 2022/10/21

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background & Aims: In obesity-associated non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), persistent hepatocellular damage and inflammation are key drivers of fibrosis, the main determinant of NASH-associated mortality. The short chain fatty acid butyrate can exert metabolic improvements and anti-inflammatory activities in NASH. However, its effects on NASH-associated liver fibrosis remains unclear. Methods: Putative antifibrotic effects of butyrate were studied in Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice fed an obesogenic NASH-inducing diet (HFD) containing 2.5% (w/w) butyrate for 38 weeks and compared to an HFD control group. Antifibrotic mechanisms of butyrate were further investigated in TGF-β-stimulated primary human hepatic stellate cells (HSC). Results: HFD-fed mice developed obesity, insulin resistance, increased levels of plasma leptin, adipose tissue inflammation, gut permeability, dysbiosis and NASH-associated fibrosis. Butyrate corrected hyperinsulinemia, lowered plasma leptin levels and attenuated adipose tissue inflammation, without affecting gut permeability or microbiota composition. Butyrate lowered plasma ALT and CK-18M30 and attenuated hepatic steatosis and inflammation. Butyrate inhibited fibrosis development as demonstrated by decreased hepatic collagen content and Sirius-red-positive area. In TGF-β-stimulated HSC, butyrate dose-dependently reduced collagen deposition and decreased procollagen1α1 and PAI-1 protein expression. Transcriptomic analysis and subsequent pathway and upstream regulator analysis revealed deactivation of specific non-canonical TGF-β signaling pathways RhoA/Rock and PI3K/AKT and other important pro-fibrotic regulators (e.g. YAP/TAZ and MYC) by butyrate, providing a potential rationale for its antifibrotic effects. Conclusions: Butyrate protects against the development of obesity and insulin resistance-associated NASH and liver fibrosis. These antifibrotic effects are at least in part attributable to a direct effect on collagen production in hepatic stellate cells, as a result of inhibiting non-canonical TGF-β signaling.

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An autocrine signaling circuit in hepatic stellate cells underlies advanced fibrosis in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

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