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The Number of Liver Galectin-3 Positive Cells Is Dually Correlated with NAFLD Severity in Children.
- Source :
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences; Jul2019, Vol. 20 Issue 14, p3460-3460, 1p, 5 Color Photographs, 2 Charts
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a complex disease ranging from steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Galectin-3 (Gal-3), which is a β-galactoside binding protein, has been associated with liver fibrosis, but its role in NAFLD remains elusive. We investigated the expression of Gal-3 in liver resident cells and its potential association with liver damage in 40 children with biopsy-proven NAFLD. We found that several liver cells expressed Gal-3. The number of total Gal-3 positive cells decreased with the severity of disease and the cells were correlated with the presence of steatosis and the diagnosis of NASH. CD68 macrophages expressed Gal-3 but the number CD68/Gal-3 positive cells was significantly reduced in patients diagnosed with steatosis and NASH. Triple CD68/CD206/Gal-3, which represented the subpopulation of M2 macrophages, were mainly present in patients without NASH, and clearly reduced in patients with steatosis and NASH. On the contrary, the number of α-smooth muscle actin (SMA)/Gal-3 positive cells increased with the severity of fibrosis in children with NAFLD. Our data demonstrated that the number of Gal-3 positive cells was associated with tissue damage in different ways, which suggests a dual role of this protein in the pathogenesis of pediatric NAFLD, even if the role of Gal-3 deserves further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- LIVER cells
FATTY liver
LIVER
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 16616596
- Volume :
- 20
- Issue :
- 14
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 137748556
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20143460