TY - JOUR
AU - Sugimoto, Atsushi
AU - Saito, Yoshinobu
AU - Wang, Guanxiong
AU - Sun, Qiuyan
AU - Yin, Chuan
AU - Lee, Ki Hong
AU - Geng, Yana
AU - Rajbhandari, Presha
AU - Hernandez, Celine
AU - Steffani, Marcella
AU - Qie, Jingran
AU - Savage, Thomas
AU - Goyal, Dhruv M
AU - Ray, Kevin C
AU - Neelakantan, Taruna V
AU - Yin, Deqi
AU - Melms, Johannes
AU - Lehrich, Brandon M
AU - Yasaka, Tyler M
AU - Liu, Silvia
AU - Oertel, Michael
AU - Lan, Tian
AU - Guillot, Adrien
AU - Peiseler, Moritz
AU - Filliol, Aveline
AU - Kanzaki, Hiroaki
AU - Fujiwara, Naoto
AU - Ravi, Samhita
AU - Izar, Benjamin
AU - Brosch, Mario
AU - Hampe, Jochen
AU - Remotti, Helen
AU - Argemi, Josepmaria
AU - Sun, Zhaoli
AU - Kendall, Timothy J
AU - Hoshida, Yujin
AU - Tacke, Frank
AU - Fallowfield, Jonathan A
AU - Blockley-Powell, Storm K
AU - Haeusler, Rebecca A
AU - Steinman, Jonathan B
AU - Pajvani, Utpal B
AU - Monga, Satdarshan P
AU - Bataller, Ramon
AU - Masoodi, Mojgan
AU - Arpaia, Nicholas
AU - Lee, Youngmin A
AU - Stockwell, Brent R
AU - Augustin, Hellmut
AU - Schwabe, Robert F
TI - Hepatic stellate cells control liver zonation, size and functions via R-spondin 3.
JO - Nature
VL - 640
SN - 0028-0836
CY - London [u.a.]
PB - Nature Publ. Group
M1 - DKFZ-2025-00540
SP - 752–761
PY - 2025
N1 - #EA:A190# / 640, pages 752–761 (2025)
AB - Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) have a central pathogenetic role in the development of liver fibrosis. However, their fibrosis-independent and homeostatic functions remain poorly understood1-5. Here we demonstrate that genetic depletion of HSCs changes WNT activity and zonation of hepatocytes, leading to marked alterations in liver regeneration, cytochrome P450 metabolism and injury. We identify R-spondin 3 (RSPO3), an HSC-enriched modulator of WNT signalling, as responsible for these hepatocyte-regulatory effects of HSCs. HSC-selective deletion of Rspo3 phenocopies the effects of HSC depletion on hepatocyte gene expression, zonation, liver size, regeneration and cytochrome P450-mediated detoxification, and exacerbates alcohol-associated and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. RSPO3 expression decreases with HSC activation and is inversely associated with outcomes in patients with alcohol-associated and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. These protective and hepatocyte-regulating functions of HSCs via RSPO3 resemble the R-spondin-expressing stromal niche in other organs and should be integrated into current therapeutic concepts.
LB - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6 - pmid:40074890
DO - DOI:10.1038/s41586-025-08677-w
UR - https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/299785
ER -