Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) can progress to hepatic fibrosis and end-stage liver disease. Hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are the central mediators of liver fibrosis. The molecular mechanisms linking hepatic steatosis to activation of HSC, thereby promoting inflammation and fibrosis, are mainly unknown. Here, we demonstrate a novel in vitro model to study the effect of hepatic lipid accumulation on HSC.Methods and results:...

Background: Adiponectin was suggested to exert hepatoprotective effects in animal models of tetrachlorcarbonate-, endotoxin- and alcohol-induced liver injury. Further, in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) low adiponectin levels were found to be associated with more severe steatosis and hepatic inflammation.Methods: To investigate the molecular basis of the hepatoprotective effects of adiponectin primary human hepatocytes were incuba...