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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 21, 2017; 23(43): 7666-7677
Published online Nov 21, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i43.7666
Pathological process of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells in liver diseases
Yao Ni, Juan-Mei Li, Ming-Kun Liu, Ting-Ting Zhang, Dong-Ping Wang, Wen-Hui Zhou, Ling-Zi Hu, Wen-Liang Lv
Yao Ni, Juan-Mei Li, Ming-Kun Liu, Ting-Ting Zhang, Dong-Ping Wang, Wen-Hui Zhou, Ling-Zi Hu, Wen-Liang Lv, Department of Infection, Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China
Author contributions: Ni Y designed the review and wrote the article; Li JM, Liu MK, Zhang TT, Wang DP, Zhou WH and Hu LZ designed the review, wrote the article and made critical revisions; Lv WL contributed to the critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content.
Supported by the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST, No. 2016QNRC001 and Beijing Natural Science Foundation, No. 7172187.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interests related to this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Wen-Liang Lv, PhD, Professor, Department of Infection, Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, No. 5, Bei Xian-ge Road, Beijing 100053, China. lvwenliang@sohu.com
Telephone: +86-10-88001120 Fax: +86-10-88001120
Received: July 22, 2017
Peer-review started: July 24, 2017
First decision: August 28, 2017
Revised: September 13, 2017
Accepted: September 28, 2017
Article in press: September 28, 2017
Published online: November 21, 2017
Abstract

Cirrhosis develops from liver fibrosis and is the severe pathological stage of all chronic liver injury. Cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infection is especially common. Liver fibrosis and cirrhosis involve excess production of extracellular matrix, which is closely related to liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs). Damaged LSECs can synthesize transforming growth factor-beta and platelet-derived growth factor, which activate hepatic stellate cells and facilitate the synthesis of extracellular matrix. Herein, we highlight the angiogenic cytokines of LSECs related to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis at different stages and focus on the formation and development of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Inhibition of LSEC angiogenesis and antiangiogenic therapy are described in detail. Targeting LSECs has high therapeutic potential for liver diseases. Further understanding of the mechanism of action will provide stronger evidence for the development of anti-LSEC drugs and new directions for diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases.

Keywords: Sinusoidal endothelial cells, Hepatitis, Fibrosis, Cirrhosis, Liver disease

Core tip: Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) comprise the highest proportion of nonparenchymal cells in the liver. Their fenestrae and basement membrane structure, and high endocytic clearance ability play an indispensable role in the physiology and pathology of the liver. LSECs mainly participate in the regulation of liver pathology, such as hepatitis, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver regeneration, by exerting anti-inflammatory activity, endocytosis, secretion, synthesis of angiogenesis signaling molecules and maintaining the hepatic stellate cell phenotype. It is important to elucidate the mechanism of action of LSECs, which will provide important information for future targeted therapy and clinical diagnosis.