Neef, Markus; Ledermann, Monika; Saegesser, Hans; Schneider, Vreni; Reichen, Juerg (2006). Low-dose oral rapamycin treatment reduces fibrogenesis, improves liver function, and prolongs survival in rats with established liver cirrhosis. Journal of hepatology, 45(6), pp. 786-96. Amsterdam: Elsevier 10.1016/j.jhep.2006.07.030
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)BACKGROUND/AIMS: Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling is central in the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), the key source of extracellular matrix (ECM) in fibrotic liver. We tested the therapeutic potential of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin in advanced cirrhosis. METHODS: Cirrhosis was induced by bile duct-ligation (BDL) or thioacetamide injections (TAA). Rats received oral rapamycin (0.5 mg/kg/day) for either 14 or 28 days. Untreated BDL and TAA-rats served as controls. Liver function was quantified by aminopyrine breath test. ECM and ECM-producing cells were quantified by morphometry. MMP-2 activity was measured by zymography. mRNA expression of procollagen-alpha1, transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and beta2 was quantified by RT-PCR. RESULTS: Fourteen days of rapamycin improved liver function. Accumulation of ECM was decreased together with numbers of activated HSCs and MMP-2 activity in both animal models. TGF-beta1 mRNA was downregulated in TAA, TGF-beta2 mRNA was downregulated in BDL. 28 days of rapamycin treatment entailed a survival advantage of long-term treated BDL-rats. CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose rapamycin treatment is effectively antifibrotic and attenuates disease progression in advanced fibrosis. Our results warrant the clinical evaluation of rapamycin as an antifibrotic drug.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Visceral Research [discontinued] |
UniBE Contributor: |
Reichen, Jürg |
ISSN: |
0168-8278 |
ISBN: |
17050028 |
Publisher: |
Elsevier |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Factscience Import |
Date Deposited: |
04 Oct 2013 14:45 |
Last Modified: |
05 Dec 2022 14:14 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1016/j.jhep.2006.07.030 |
PubMed ID: |
17050028 |
Web of Science ID: |
000242484600004 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/18553 (FactScience: 745) |
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