Sistema Gastrointestinal e Digestivo

Abstrato

Hepatic Stellate Cells in Hepatocellular Carcinogenesis: Possible Therapeutic Targets?

Cristin Constantin Vere, Alin Gabriel Ionescu, Costin Teodor Streba and Otilia Rogoveanu

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a crucial role in liver fibrosis, following inflammatory processes within the parenchyma. Their activation pathways give way to a cascade of phenomena which are potentially dangerous for the liver metabolism at a cellular level. The changes towards fibrosis pave the way for the evolution of hepatitis into cirrhosis, the most important etiological entity of hepatocellular carcinoma. In this review, we try to cover a few of the basic aspects of the intricate mechanisms that govern the complex activation of HSCs, their involvement in carcinogenesis and how these molecular targets may become valuable in the future therapeutic approaches for primary liver carcinomas.