Environmental, microenvironmental and nanoenvironmental factors which drive liver disease pathogenesis and progression

Symposium — Wednesday, April 26, 2024 — 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM — , Room W194B
GI and Liver Physiology Section — Chair: Michele T Pritchard — Co-Chair:

Liver disease consists of a spectrum of increasingly more severe hepatic derangements beginning with steatosis and ending with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite decades of research, only hepatitis C-mediated liver disease is curable.  Other advanced liver diseases (e.g. due to chronic alcohol consumption or over-nutrition) remain incurable in a subset of patients, even with etiologic agent removal. Therefore, considerable effort is placed on finding ways to prevent liver disease progression and to enhance the innate ability of the liver to heal itself. In this symposium, we will explore exciting new perspectives on research which targets liver disease from three different vantage points: Environmental, microenviornmental and nanonenvironmental levels of organization.  Environmental factors are known drivers of liver disease and it is appreciated that disrupting diurnal rhythm can promote several human diseases. Dr. Shannon Bailey will explore this area by illustrating potential roles for circadian rhythm in alcohol-induced liver injury. At the microenvironmental level, interactions between cell types with one another, the extracellular matrix and various extracellular soluble factors facilitate communication among cells.  When deregulated, this communication can drive fibrosis.  Two speakers will comment on this level of organization.  First, Dr. James Luyendyk will discuss recent work on the role of the hemostatic system in fibrosis. Second, Dr. Michel Fausther will explore involvement of extracellular adenosine-mediated signaling in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. Finally, drilling down to the nanoenvironmental level within cells, Dr. Laura Schrum will discuss the role of the microRNA17-92 in liver disease.  In summary, this symposium will explore mechanisms of liver injury and fibrosis from the three different, but integrated perspectives.  It is anticipated that the audience will come away from this symposium with a greater appreciation for the incredible complexity of interactions at different organizational levels and how those interactions contribute to liver disease.  Targeting dysregulation at multiple organizational levels may prove beneficial for treatment of liver disease.

Speakers

• Circadian alterations in alcoholic liver disease
  Shannon Bailey — Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham


• Role of the hemostatic system in experimental liver fibrosis
  James Luyendyk — Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, Michigan State University


• Adenosine-mediated regulation of liver tissue repair and regeneration 
  Michel Fausther — Internal Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences


• Role of miRNA17-92 in liver injury
  Laura Schrum — James G. Cannon Research Center, Carolinas HealthCare System Cannon Research Center