Li Peizhi, He Kun, Li Jinzheng, Liu Zuojin, Gong Jianping
Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Mol Immunol. 2017 May;85:222-229. doi: 10.1016/j.molimm.2017.02.018. Epub 2017 Mar 15.
Kupffer cells (KCs) constitute 80-90% of the tissue macrophages present in the body. Essential to innate and adaptive immunity, KCs are responsible for the swift containment and clearance of exogenous particulates and immunoreactive materials which are perceived as foreign and harmful to the body. Similar to other macrophages, KCs also sense endogenous molecular signals that may result from perturbed homeostasis of the host. KCs have been implicated in host defense and the pathogenesis of various hepatic diseases, including endotoxin tolerance, liver transplantation, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and alcoholic liver disease. In this review, we summarized some novel findings associated with the role of KCs in hepatic diseases, such as the origin and mechanisms KCs polarization, molecular basis for caspase-1 activation called "non-canonical inflammasome pathway" involving the cleavage of Gsdmd by caspase-11, the important role of microRNA in liver transplantation, and so on. A better understanding of KCs biological characteristics and immunologic function in liver homeostasis and pathology may pave the way to investigate new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for hepatic diseases.
库普弗细胞（KCs）占体内组织巨噬细胞的80%-90%。KCs对先天性和适应性免疫至关重要，负责迅速遏制和清除被视为对身体有害的外来颗粒和免疫反应性物质。与其他巨噬细胞类似，KCs也能感知宿主内稳态失衡可能产生的内源性分子信号。KCs与宿主防御以及各种肝脏疾病的发病机制有关，包括内毒素耐受、肝移植、非酒精性脂肪性肝病和酒精性肝病。在本综述中，我们总结了一些与KCs在肝脏疾病中的作用相关的新发现，例如KCs极化的起源和机制、由caspase-11切割Gsdmd介导的被称为“非经典炎性小体途径”的caspase-1激活的分子基础、微小RNA在肝移植中的重要作用等。更好地了解KCs在肝脏内稳态和病理过程中的生物学特性和免疫功能，可能为研究肝脏疾病的新诊断和治疗方法铺平道路。
