• October 3, 2023
  • Dr. Lanuza Faccioli

PLRC HSLBC Core Director Dr. Alex Soto-Gutierrez and his core scientist Dr. Lanuza Faccioli have recently published an article looking at hepatocytes from PSC and PBC patients.

Human Hepatocellular response in Cholestatic Liver Diseases. 

Ortiz K, Cetin Z, Sun Y, Hu Z, Kurihara T, Tafaleng EN, Florentino RM, Ostrowska A, Soto-Gutierrez A, Faccioli LAP. Human Hepatocellular response in Cholestatic Liver Diseases. Organogenesis. 2023 Dec 31;19(1):2247576. doi: 10.1080/15476278.2023.2247576. PMID: 37598346; PMCID: PMC10444014.

Abstract:  Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), the most common types of cholestatic liver disease (CLD), result in enterohepatic obstruction, bile acid accumulation, and hepatotoxicity. The mechanisms by which hepatocytes respond to and cope with CLD remain largely unexplored. This study includes the characterization of hepatocytes isolated from explanted livers of patients with PBC and PSC. We examined the expression of hepatocyte-specific genes, intracellular bile acid (BA) levels, and oxidative stress in primary-human-hepatocytes (PHHs) isolated from explanted livers of patients with PBC and PSC and compared them with control normal human hepatocytes. Our findings provide valuable initial insights into the hepatocellular response to cholestasis in CLD and help support the use of PHHs as an experimental tool for these diseases.