Acute decompensation (AD) of cirrhosis is defined by the development of ascites, hepatic
encephalopathy (HE) and/or variceal bleeding. Ascites is traditionally attributed to …

Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) form the wall of the hepatic sinusoids. Unlike
other capillaries, they lack an organized basement membrane and have cytoplasm that is …

The endothelins comprise three structurally similar 21-amino acid peptides. Endothelin-1
and-2 activate two G-protein coupled receptors, ETA and ETB, with equal affinity, whereas …

Hepatic fibrosis is a wound healing response to insults and as such affects the entire world
population. In industrialized countries, the main causes of liver fibrosis include alcohol …

Fibrosis, or the accumulation of extracellular matrix molecules that make up scar tissue, is a
common feature of chronic tissue injury. Pulmonary fibrosis, renal fibrosis, and hepatic …

The hepatic stellate cell has surprised and engaged physiologists, pathologists, and
hepatologists for over 130 years, yet clear evidence of its role in hepatic injury and fibrosis …

The most frequent cause of portal hypertension is liver cirrhosis, and many of lethal
complications of cirrhosis such as ascites and gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage are …

The complex functions of the liver in biosynthesis, metabolism, clearance, and host defense
are tightly dependent on an adequate microcirculation. To guarantee hepatic homeostasis …

Liver fibrosis is a common feature of sustained liver injury and represents a major public
health problem worldwide. Fibrosis is an active research field and discoveries in the last …

The extracellular matrix (ECM) provides cells with positional information and a mechanical
scaffold for adhesion and migration. It consists of collagens, glycoproteins, proteoglycans …