liver fibrosis

[Blade Therapeutics, Inc.] Blade Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing cutting-edge treatments for fibrotic and neurodegenerative diseases, announced positive preliminary data from a new preclinical study of cudetaxestat, an investigational non-competitive autotaxin inhibitor in clinical development for IPF.

[Scientific Reports] The authors examined the benefits of serum-free conditioned medium from stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth on a murine non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) model induced by a combination of Western diet and repeated administration of low doses of carbon tetrachloride intraperitoneally, focusing on the gut-liver axis.

[Cell Death Discovery] Scientists demonstrated that the expression of lncRNA NEAT1 was increased and the expression of miR-139-5p was decreased in fibrotic liver tissues. LncRNA NEAT1 could sponge miR-139-5p and promoted hepatic stellate cells activation by directly inhibiting the expression of miR-139-5p.

[Communications Biology] The authors reported a strategy for chronic liver disease treatment by induction of integrin αvβ3 mediated cell apoptosis using a rationally designed protein (ProAgio). ProAgio was designed to target integrin αvβ3 at a novel site, which was highly expressed in activated hepatic stellate cells, angiogenic endothelium, and capillarized liver sinusoidal endothelial cells.

[Stem Cells and Development] Investigators explored the possible mechanism of HGF-transfected human umbilical cord MSCs in inhibiting the proliferation and activation of hepatic stellate cells-T6.

[Laboratory Investigation] Scientists investigated the roles of Lipocalin 2 (LCN2) in chronic inflammation and fibrosis, using repeated carbon tetrachloride in mineral-oil injection. Hepatic and serum LCN2 levels were remarkably higher in the mineral oil-injected wild type group compared to the CCl4.