Damage to liver cells due to excess fat in the liver can be prevented by suppressing one of the receptors of the immune system. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
Liver obesity is a dangerous condition of the body due to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, fatty acids and some other harmful compounds in its cells. This damages DNA, other molecules, and cell membranes. Mitochondria, which are often cellular “energy machines”, help fight these problems by using damaged molecules, but their work in the liver depends on the molecule interleukin-6 (IL-6). However, in various pathologies, the inflammatory receptor gp130 of this molecule is activated. Now scientists from Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (Kaliningrad) have found that blocking this receptor leads to almost absolute survival of liver cells in obesity.
“In experiments with cell cultures, we have shown that gp130 receptors help liver cells maintain the optimal number and state of mitochondria for vital activity. Knowledge of this could aid in the development of drugs to improve the condition of the liver in people with obesity,” he said.
During the experiments, the scientists recreated obesity conditions in a liver cell culture by adding a solution of fatty acids to them. After a day, the hepatocytes began to die: the researchers found 4% of dead cells in culture, while almost all of the cells remained alive in the untreated control samples. If scientists treated cells with fatty acids and interleukin-6 at the same time, the harmful effect of obesity was reduced, the proportion of dead cells decreased. This effect of IL-6 became more pronounced when the scientists additionally treated the cells with a solution that blocks gp130 receptors – in this case, the proportion of viable cells in culture approached 100%.
The authors hope that their discovery will lead to the development of new drugs against liver diseases.
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