Abstract
Liver fibrosis, a common pathological process of chronic liver diseases, is the final stage of liver dysfunction that has severely deleterious impact on human health. Cytoglobin was first discovered in 2001 by proteomic analysis in rat stellate cells and was reported to play an important role in controlling tissue fibrosis. However, the mechanism by which cytoglobin inhibits or reverses the progression of fibrosis remains unclear. The present study examines the effect of recombinant human cytoblobin (rhCygb) in a rat model of liver fibrosis. Proteomic approaches were employed to identify differentially expressed proteins in the fibrosis model. Optimized conditions for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis were developed to provide improved protein detection and separation. A total of 43 spots were obtained and, through the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, 30 differentially expressed proteins were identified. Gene ontology term annotation and KEGG pathway analysis allowed us to explore the function of the represented proteins. Based on these results, we provide a theory of the molecular mechanism related to rhCygb reversion of fibrosis and which will assist in the identification of biomarkers in patient serum to improve early diagnosis of liver fibrosis.
Highlights
Liver fibrosis is a response to chronic liver injury and is caused by a series of actors[1, 2]
The underlying pathological process involves the activation of quiescent hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) into contractile myofibroblast-like cells, which secrete excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, including collagen, in the liver [3]
Hyaluronic acid (HA), laminin (LN), collagen III (Col III) and collagen IV (Col IV) ELISA kits were obtained from Abbott Laboratories, USA
Summary
Liver fibrosis is a response to chronic liver injury and is caused by a series of actors[1, 2]. It is well-established that liver fibrosis is a total pathological change induced by sustained liver injury, liver cell necrosis or inflammation. The underlying pathological process involves the activation of quiescent hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) into contractile myofibroblast-like cells, which secrete excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, including collagen, in the liver [3]. The inflammation resulting from liver fibrosis is difficult to repair and may lead to liver disease or cancer. Any reversal of advanced liver fibrosis prior to cirrhosis would be of great importance to human health[4].
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