Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Governing Liver Homeostasis

Dear Colleagues,

The liver is central to various systemic functions involved in metabolism, storage of nutrients and detoxification. The liver produces and secretes bile acids, as well as acute phase reactants, regulates iron and cholesterol homeostasis, and detoxifies drugs. The liver is also as an important tool in the body’s immune response, and is home to various immune cells, including monocytes, macrophages, granulocytes, natural killer cells, and dendritic cells. The liver is vulnerable to multiple pathogenic factors, such as infections, drugs, alcohol (alcoholic liver disease, ALD), metabolism-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), autoimmune dysfunction, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and their complications. Thus, many mechanisms ensure homeostatic regulation of immune responses, resulting in immune tolerance in the majority of cases. Recent studies strongly suggest that extracellular factors (e.g. hormones, cytokines) as well as intrinsic molecular factors impact hepatic homeostasis. It is urgent to discover novel molecular and cellular mechanisms affecting liver homeostasis in order to support the development of new therapeutic targets that treat liver diseases. Our special issue aims to report the most recent molecular and cellular mechanisms governing Liver Homeostasis, and will be open to review and research articles that focus on, but not limited to characterization and roles of various liver molecular and cellular populations in the regulation of infectious, immune-mediated and metabolic liver diseases.

Dr. Dolores B. Njoku
Guest Editor

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