Hepatic Stellate Cells and Immune Microenvironment in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Medicine".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 4
Special Issue Editor
Interests: hepatic stellate cells; hepatic fibrosis; apoptosis; immune microenvironment; proteomics; cell biology; molecular biology; microbiology and immunology; extraction of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM); organic synthesis
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer-related morality worldwide due to increasing rates of liver fibrosis and impaired hepatic immunity. Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) may directly or indirectly interplay with various hepatic cells and subsequently modulate the hepatic tumor microenvironment (TME) involved in different fibrotic and immune cell types. In this regard, the immune microenvironment created by activated HSCs plays a pivotal role in mediating pathogenesis and immune escape during the progression of HCC.
This Special Issue will focus on several topics as follows:
- The roles of fibrogenic cytokines in HSC activation during hepatic fibrogenesis and HCC progression;
- The cellular crosstalk between activated HSCs and innate/adaptive immune events;
- Epigenetics and the immune microenvironment in HSCs;
- The interactions of activated HSCs and ECM within the hepatic TME;
- Reciprocal modulation in metabolism of activated HSCs within the immune microenvironment;
- Clinical implications and relevance of the regulation of activated HSCs and immune cells within the hepatic TME.
This Special Issue provides novel insights into the significant roles of activated HSCs to enhance hepatocarcinogenesis through their immune-modulatory properties and reiterates that HSCs may serve as a potent target for the treatment of advanced HCC.
Prof. Dr. Tai-long Pan
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- hepatic stellate cell
- hepatocellular carcinoma
- immune microenvironment
- extracellular matrix
- epigenetics
- tumor microenvironment
- inflammation
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