Expansion of Macrophage and Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cell Subpopulations During Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis Progression

Overview

Journal iScience

Publisher Cell Press

Date 2023 May 1

PMID 37124414

Authors

Zhenyang Shen

Bo Shen

Weiming Dai

Cui Zhou

Xin Luo

Yuecheng Guo

Junjun Wang

Xianjun Xu

Zhongshang Sun

Xiaobo Cai

Hui Dong

Lungen Lu

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Liver non-parenchymal cells (NPCs) play a critical role in the progression of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We aimed to explore the heterogeneity of NPCs and identify NASH-specific subpopulations contributing to NASH progression. Through single-cell RNA sequencing, we uncovered a proinflammatory subpopulation of Itgad/Fcrl5 macrophages with potential function of modulating macrophage accumulation and promoting NASH development. We also identified subpopulations of Egr1 and Ly6a liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), which might participate in pathological angiogenesis and inflammation regulation. The Itgad/Fcrl5 macrophages, Egr1 LSECs, and Ly6a LSECs emerged in the early stage and expanded significantly along with pathological progression of liver injury during NASH. Cell-cell interactions between hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and Itgad/Fcrl5 macrophages, Egr1 LSECs or Ly6a LSECs were enhanced in NASH liver. Our results revealed that expansion of Itgad/Fcrl5 macrophages, Egr1 LSECs or Ly6a LSECs was strongly associated with NASH severity, suggesting these subpopulations might be involved in NASH progression.

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