A groundbreaking international study involving researchers from Birmingham has unveiled a critical mechanism involving a protein found in the endothelium, a thin layer of cells lining blood vessels.
This protein plays a pivotal role in facilitating the movement of immune cells called macrophages from the bloodstream into the liver.
This migration leads to inflammation, which can contribute to liver disease and liver cancer.
The research offers a novel insight into potential treatments aimed at controlling macrophage levels in the liver, ultimately preventing cancer and supporting the healthy healing of this vital organ.
Unveiling the Mechanism
The study’s results, recently published in the journal iScience, provide the first-ever identification of how a specific protein in the endothelium, called plasmalemma vesicle-associated protein (PLVAP), aids in the recruitment of macrophages to the liver.
This recruitment is triggered by molecules secreted by senescent liver cells—cells that have ceased multiplying.
These secretions, known as senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), had previously been linked to immune cell recruitment in the liver.
However, the precise molecular mechanisms involved were unclear until this study.
The research was a collaborative effort, involving Birmingham researchers working alongside international teams from universities including Edinburgh, Cambridge, Minia (Egypt), and Turku (Finland).
Funding for the study was provided through the Newton Prize, an annual award supporting collaborative research addressing pressing global health and development issues.
A Global Health Concern
Chronic liver disease is a significant global health concern, responsible for approximately two million deaths worldwide each year.
In the UK, it ranks as the second most common cause of premature death. Additionally, chronic liver disease is a major risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, a form of liver cancer.
Lead researcher Professor Shishir Shetty, a specialist in Liver Tumor Immunology at the University of Birmingham, expressed the significance of the study’s findings.
He emphasized that senescence, the state of cell growth arrest, in liver disease and cancer can have both beneficial and detrimental effects.
The study highlights the potential to target blood vessels to mitigate the harmful consequences of senescence-driven inflammation while preserving its protective aspects, such as preventing cell malignancy.
In conclusion, this research has unveiled a crucial piece of the puzzle in understanding the role of specific proteins in liver disease and cancer.
By shedding light on the mechanisms driving inflammation, these findings pave the way for future investigations and potential therapeutic interventions aimed at safeguarding liver health and preventing malignancies.
If you care about liver health, please read studies about a diet that can treat fatty liver disease and obesity, and coffee drinkers may halve their risk of liver cancer.
For more information about liver health, please see recent studies that anti-inflammatory diet could help prevent fatty liver disease, and results showing vitamin D could help prevent non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
The research findings can be found in iScience.
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