Schumacher Justin D, Guo Grace L
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
Biomed Res Int. 2016;2016:8323747. doi: 10.1155/2016/8323747. Epub 2016 Sep 6.
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a family of growth factors critically involved in developmental, physiological, and pathological processes, including embryogenesis, angiogenesis, wound healing, and endocrine functions. In the liver, several FGFs are produced basally by hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Upon insult to the liver, expression of FGFs in HSCs is greatly upregulated, stimulating hepatocyte regeneration and growth. Various FGF isoforms have also been shown to directly induce HSC proliferation and activation thereby enabling autocrine and paracrine regulation of HSC function. Regulation of HSCs by the endocrine FGFs, namely, FGF15/19 and FGF21, has also recently been identified. With the ability to modulate HSC proliferation and transdifferentiation, targeting FGF signaling pathways constitutes a promising new therapeutic strategy to treat hepatic fibrosis.
成纤维细胞生长因子（FGFs）是一类生长因子，在发育、生理和病理过程中起着关键作用，包括胚胎发生、血管生成、伤口愈合和内分泌功能。在肝脏中，几种FGFs由肝细胞和肝星状细胞（HSCs）基础分泌。肝脏受到损伤时，肝星状细胞中FGFs的表达会大幅上调，刺激肝细胞再生和生长。各种FGF亚型也被证明可直接诱导肝星状细胞增殖和激活，从而实现对肝星状细胞功能的自分泌和旁分泌调节。最近还发现了内分泌FGFs，即FGF15/19和FGF21对肝星状细胞的调节作用。由于能够调节肝星状细胞的增殖和转分化，靶向FGF信号通路构成了一种有前景的治疗肝纤维化的新策略。
