Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
Liver Research Unit, Medica Sur Clinic & Foundation, Mexico City, Mexico.
Front Immunol. 2021 Mar 23;12:641240. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.641240. eCollection 2021.
Metabolic Associated Fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a global health problem and represents the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the world. MAFLD spectrum goes from simple steatosis to cirrhosis, in between metabolic steatohepatitis with progressive fibrosis, which pathogenesis is not completely understood. Hence, the role of the immune system has become an important fact in the trigger of inflammatory cascades in metabolic steatohepatitis and in the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Among, the more studied immune cells in the pathogenesis of MAFLD are macrophages, T cells, natural killer and dendritic cells. In particular, hepatic dendritic cells had recently attracted a special attention, with a dual role in the pathogenesis of MAFLD. These cells have the capacity to switch from a tolerant state to active state inducing an inflammatory cascade. Furthermore, these cells play a role in the lipid storage within the liver, having, thus providing a crucial nexus between inflammation and lipid metabolism. In this review, we will discuss the current knowledge on the dual role of dendritic cells in lipid accumulation, as wells as in the triggering of hepatic inflammation and hepatocytes cell death in metabolic steatohepatitis.
代谢相关性脂肪性肝病（MAFLD）是一个全球性的健康问题，也是世界范围内最常见的慢性肝病病因。MAFLD 谱从单纯性脂肪变性到肝硬化，其间为伴有进行性纤维化的代谢性脂肪性肝炎，其发病机制尚不完全清楚。因此，免疫系统的作用在代谢性脂肪性肝炎的炎症级联反应触发和肝星状细胞（HSCs）的激活中已成为一个重要因素。在 MAFLD 的发病机制中，研究较多的免疫细胞包括巨噬细胞、T 细胞、自然杀伤细胞和树突状细胞。特别是，肝树突状细胞最近引起了特别关注，在 MAFLD 的发病机制中具有双重作用。这些细胞具有从耐受状态向激活状态转变的能力，从而诱导炎症级联反应。此外，这些细胞在肝脏内的脂质储存中发挥作用，从而在炎症和脂质代谢之间提供了一个关键的连接点。在这篇综述中，我们将讨论目前关于树突状细胞在脂质积累以及在代谢性脂肪性肝炎中触发肝炎症和肝细胞死亡中的双重作用的知识。
