In a new study from the German Cancer Research Center, researchers found that a particular type of dendritic cell is responsible for the tissue damage that occurs in non-alcoholic steatohepatits (NASH).
The dendritic cells cause aggressive, proinflammatory behavior in T cells.
Blocking these dendritic cells alleviates symptoms. This type of approach might also prevent the development of serious liver damage in NASH patients.
Obesity is extremely widespread in the Western world, and 90% of those affected show signs of fatty degeneration of the liver.
If they maintain an unhealthy lifestyle over a long period (high-calorie diet, sedentary lifestyle), liver cell death occurs in around a fifth of these people, resulting in inflammation of the liver, referred to as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
NASH can lead to liver fibrosis, life-threatening liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
In addition to its well-known role in metabolism and in filtering toxins, the liver also has a strategic function as part of the immune system.
It acts as the primary line of defense against all microbial toxins and food contaminants that enter the body from the intestines via the portal vein. In order to perform this task, a whole army of different immune cells patrols the liver.
In the study, the team analyzed the composition of the immune cell population in the liver and the degree of NASH-related liver damage.
This enabled them to identify a particular type of immune cell that promotes the progression of the disease—in both mice and humans.
They then fed laboratory mice a diet lacking essential nutrients but enriched with lipids and cholesterol—comparable to our ‘junk food’—and found the development of NASH.
They studied the liver immune cells and discovered an unusually high number of a particular kind of cell, known as type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1), in the liver of NASH.
In tissue samples taken from patients in liver biopsies, the researchers found a link between the number of cDC1 cells and liver damage typical of NASH.
In addition, the researchers discovered that the NASH-related tissue damage modulates the hematopoietic system in the bone marrow.
In NASH patients, the team discovered that the cDC1 induces inflammatory and more aggressive behavior in T cells responsible for the liver, causing liver damage and leading to progression of the disease.
Previous research has identified these autoaggressive T cells as being responsible for liver damage in NASH.
The team says that the cDC1 plays a key role in the progression of NASH, and targeted these cells might offer a new way of treating inflammation of the liver.
Scientists are increasingly recognizing that certain cells of the immune system are involved in the development of different diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Medicine is thus increasingly using ways of modulating the immune system and using drugs to push it in the right direction. This kind of approach might also work to prevent serious liver damage in NASH patients.
If you care about liver health, please read studies about this nutrient supplement may help treat fatty liver disease and findings of this diet cuts non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by half.
For more information about liver disease prevention and treatment, please see recent studies about this painkiller may affect your liver health much more than expected and results showing the key to stopping the silent killer of liver disease.
The study is published in Nature Medicine. One author of the study is Mathias Heikenwälder.
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