Mechanism of the activation of hepatic stellate cells: An exploration of new diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for liver fibrosis / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

Liver fibrosis has a complex pathogenesis, and at present, the research mainly focuses on hepatic stellate cells (HSC). Many stimulating factors and regulatory pathways have been found to promote the activation of HSC. This article reviews the recent research findings on several major cytokines and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ and research hotspots in recent years, including the association of microRNAs, long non-coding RNA, and exosomes with HSC activation. This article also introduces potential targets for the treatment of liver fibrosis and new markers for noninvasive diagnosis of liver diseases and proposes that chemical drugs or traditional Chinese medicine compounds which act on the targets of HSC activation can be formulated, in order to make a breakthrough in the therapeutics of liver fibrosis.