Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Liver Diseases

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Pathology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 4010

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Radiation Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA
Interests: liver cancer; fatty liver diseases; role of obesity in cancers; cancer biology; pharmacology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The liver is the largest internal organ and gland in the human body. It performs many vital functions to keep the body pure from toxins and harmful substances; thus, it is considered a central organ for metabolic homeostasis. Liver diseases account for two million deaths annually. The major risk factors include prolonged excessive alcohol consumption, chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, autoimmune hepatitis, drug-induced liver injury, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and other metabolic diseases.

Liver injury induced by these risk factors is often reversible at early stages since normally quiescent hepatocytes can proliferate and restore normal liver mass and functions. However, persistent injury increases cellular damage, oxidative stress, and inflammation, which can lead to liver fibrosis, progress to cirrhosis, and may ultimately result in liver cancer. In addition, genetic and epigenetic alterations are involved in the development and progression of liver diseases.

This Special Issue will publish original articles and review articles in basic, translational research concerning Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of all aspects of liver diseases.

Dr. Jieyun Jiang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • liver
  • alcoholic liver disease (ALD)
  • viral hepatitis
  • metabolic associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)
  • autoimmune hepatitis
  • drug-induced liver injury
  • liver fibrosis and cirrhosis
  • liver cancer
  • cellular and molecular mechanisms

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3065 KB  
Article
CES1 Increases Hepatic Triacylglycerol Synthesis Through Activation of PPARγ, LXR and SREBP1c
by Rajakumar Selvaraj, Jihong Lian, Russell Watts, Randal Nelson, Michael F. Saikali, Carolyn L. Cummins and Richard Lehner
Cells 2025, 14(19), 1548; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14191548 - 3 Oct 2025
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Abstract
Increased hepatic triacylglycerol (TG) storage in lipid droplets (LDs) is a hallmark of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Human carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) regulates TG storage and secretion in hepatocytes, but the mechanism remains to be elucidated. We [...] Read more.
Increased hepatic triacylglycerol (TG) storage in lipid droplets (LDs) is a hallmark of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Human carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) regulates TG storage and secretion in hepatocytes, but the mechanism remains to be elucidated. We performed studies in rat hepatoma McArdle RH7777 cells stably transfected with CES1 cDNA and in Ces1d-deficient mice using a variety of biochemical, pharmacological and cell biology approaches including the assessment of gene expression, confocal immunofluorescence microscopy, lipid synthesis measurements and quantitative mass spectrometry. CES1-expressing cells accrued more TG compared to cells lacking CES1 when incubated with oleic acid. CES1 increased the expression of Srebf1c, Nr1h3 and Nr1h2 encoding transcription factors (SREBP1c and LXRα and LXRβ, respectively) that regulate the expression of lipogenic genes. Additionally, CES1 increased the expression of Acsl1 encoding an enzyme catalyzing fatty acid activation and the expression of Dgat1 and Dgat2 encoding enzymes catalyzing TG synthesis. Treatment of CES1-expressing cells with PPARγ antagonist (GW9662), LXR antagonist (GSK2033) or CYP27A1 inhibitor Felodipine prevented CES1-mediated fatty acid esterification into TG. Ces1d-deficient mice fed high-fat diet (HFD) presented with decreased expression of Nr1h3, Nr1h2, Srebf1c and reduced hepatic TG content. Felodipine and GSK2033 treatment eliminated the differential effects on TG concentration between wild-type and Ces1d-deficient hepatocytes. The results suggest that CES1/Ces1d activates PPARγ, LXR and SREBP1c pathways, thereby increasing TG synthesis and LD storage by augmenting fatty acid esterification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Liver Diseases)
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22 pages, 5739 KB  
Article
Development and Validation of AAV-Mediated Liver, Liver-VAT, and Liver-Brain SORT and Therapeutic Regulation of FASN in Hepatic De Novo Lipogenesis
by Ratulananda Bhadury, Mohammad Athar, Pooja Mishra, Chayanika Gogoi, Shubham Sharma and Devram S. Ghorpade
Cells 2025, 14(5), 372; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14050372 - 4 Mar 2025
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Abstract
Hepatic lipogenesis combined with elevated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is central to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, the therapeutic targeting of key molecules is considerably less accomplished. Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene therapies offer a new solution for various human ailments. Comprehensive bio-functional validation studies [...] Read more.
Hepatic lipogenesis combined with elevated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is central to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, the therapeutic targeting of key molecules is considerably less accomplished. Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene therapies offer a new solution for various human ailments. Comprehensive bio-functional validation studies are essential to assess the impact of AAVs in the target organ for developing both preclinical and clinical gene therapy programs. Here, we have established a robust and efficient protocol for high-titer AAV production to enable detailed Selective ORgan Targeting (SORT) of AAV1, 5, 7, and 8 in vivo. Our results for in vivo SORT showed single organ (liver) targeting by AAV8, no organ targeting by AAV1, and dual organ transduction (liver-brain and liver-VAT) by AAV5 and AAV7. Using a human dataset and preclinical murine models of NASH, we identified an inverse correlation between ER stress-triggered CRELD2 and the de novo lipogenesis driver FASN. Furthermore, liver-specific silencing of CRELD2 via AAV8-shCreld2 strongly supports the contribution of CRELD2 to de novo lipogenesis through FASN regulation. Thus, our study demonstrates a robust method for producing clinically translatable AAVs that could be readily adapted for liver and/or liver-VAT or liver-brain targeted gene therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Liver Diseases)
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