The role of the apoptosis-related protein BCL-B in the regulation of mitophagy in hepatic stellate cells during the regression of liver fibrosis

Abstract

Liver fibrosis: cleaning up injured mitochondria helps reverse tissue scarring Clearing away defective mitochondria helps destroy cells in the liver that contribute to tissue scarring; the signaling pathway involved offers a new therapeutic target. Hui-Qing Jiang and colleagues from the Hebei Institute of Gastroenterology in Shijiazhuang, China, induced liver fibrosis in mice and showed that as the animals recovered and the damage to their liver tissue was reversed, injured mitochondria were cleared from fibrosis-causing cells in tandem with the cells’ controlled destruction. Experimentally inhibiting the process of mitochondrial clearance also inhibited cell death and aggravated fibrotic scarring in the mice. The researchers identified a signaling pathway that regulates mitochondrial cleanup and, in turn, also controlled cell death. Targeting this pathway offer a potential new therapeutic strategy for reversing liver fibrosis in patients.