Liver damage can be reversed after all, scientists have announced, raising hopes of a potential cure for cirrhosis.
US researchers have overturned conventional medical opinion, by succeeding in reversing the excessive tissue scarring which is commonly linked to alcohol poisoning.
The breakthrough, made in mice, could lead to the first curative treatment for cirrhosis and other similar conditions caused by illness or injury.
Tissue scarring is also found in burn injuries and scleroderma - a chronic disease which causes hardening of the skin.
Livers affected by cirrhosis gradually have their healthy tissue replaced by tough, fibrous scar tissue, a process known as fibrosis.
As this transformation progresses, liver function begins to fail. Ultimately a liver transplant may be necessary to prevent complete liver failure and death.
Worldwide, almost 800,000 people die from cirrhosis each year. The condition can have a number of causes, but alcoholism and infection by the hepatitis C virus are the most common. Currently there is no treatment.
The mouse experiments conducted at the University of California in San Diego show that, contrary to popular belief, liver fibrosis can be reversed, with scar tissue returning to normal healthy liver tissue.
The researchers identified a weak link in the biochemical pathway that leads to overproduction of scar tissue and cirrhosis.
They found that when the liver is injured, for instance by alcohol, a protein called RSK was responsible for triggering the activation of a type of liver cells which orchestrate the scarring - known as HSCs.
However, RSK could be blocked by an inhibitory peptide, a small piece of a protein.
Dr Martina Buck, who led the research reported in the journal PLoS Online, said: "Remarkably, the death of HSCs may also allow recovery from liver injury and reversal of liver fibrosis."
The scientists discovered RSK to be similarly active in human patients with severe liver fibrosis, raising hopes that a similar blocking drug could reverse the scarring.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article