Analysis of pathological activities of CCN proteins in fibrotic diseases: Liver fibrosis

Abstract

Hepatic fibrosis is a complex pathology arising from chronic injury. Pathological features are dominated by the excessive production of extracellular matrix proteins, particularly collagens which are deposited as insoluble scar material that can compromise tissue function. Fibrosis in the liver can often be assessed by staining for collagen in tissue sections and this is an approach that is widely used for grading of fibrosis in human biopsies. However, the recognition of the molecular components that drive fibrosis, including CCN proteins, and the involvement of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) as the principal collagen-producing cells in fibrosing liver, has resulted in a wide variety of molecular and cellular approaches to study the pathogenesis of fibrosis both in vivo and in vitro.