Z Gastroenterol 2020; 58(01): e14
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-3402135
Poster Visit Session I Basic Hepatology (Fibrogenesis, NPC, Transport): Friday, February 14, 2020, 12:30 pm – 1:15 pm, Lecture Hall P1
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Growth differentiation factor 11 mitigates liver fibrosis via expansion of liver progenitor cells

Z Dai
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
G Song
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
2   fudan university, gastroenterology, shanghai, China
,
A Balakrishnan
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
Q Yuan
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
T Yang
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
S Möbus
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
AC Weiss
3   hannover medical school, Institute for Molecular Biology, hannover, Germany
,
M Bentler
4   hannover medical school, institute of experimental hematology, hannover, Germany
,
H Bantel
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
E Jaeckel
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
A Kispert
3   hannover medical school, Institute for Molecular Biology, hannover, Germany
,
A Vogel
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
A Saborowski
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
H Büning
4   hannover medical school, institute of experimental hematology, hannover, Germany
,
MP Manns
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
T Cantz
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
M Ott
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
,
AD Sharma
1   hannover medical school, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, hannover, Germany
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
03 January 2020 (online)

Also available at
 

Liver fibrosis and cirrhosis resulting from long-standing liver damage represent a major health care burden worldwide. Members of the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) family have been shown to play a pivotal role in fibrogenesis of the liver as well as multiple other organs. Growth differentiation factor (GDF) 11, a member of TGF-β family, has been recently investigated for its role in rejuvenation of aging organs. However, the function of GDF11 in liver fibrosis has remained elusive. Here, we investigated the expression and function of GDF11 in chronic liver disease. We show that expression of GDF11 is upregulated in patients with liver fibrosis and in experimentally induced murine liver fibrosis models. Furthermore, we found that therapeutic application of GDF11 mounts a protective response against fibrosis by increasing the number of leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5 (LGR5)+ progenitor cells in the liver. Collectively, our findings uncover a protective role of GDF11 in liver fibrosis and suggest a therapeutic application of GDF11 for the treatment of chronic liver disease.