| Hepatic fibrosis represents a reversible and dynamic process in response to a variety of chronic stimuli. Liver cirrhosis is the most advanced stage of fibrosis. The main pathological characteristic of hepatic fibrosis is the increased and irregular deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components. Activation of the hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), a perisinusoidal cell that resides in the liver in a quiescent state, is responsible for the increased synthesis and deposition of ECM in the liver. Following a fibrogenic stimulus, the HSCs undergo a complex activation process in which the cell changes from a quiescent vitamin A-storing cell to an activated myofibroblast-like cell, which proliferates and becomes fibrogenic. An increase in DNA synthesis and cell proliferation occurs with HSC activation. The apoptosis of HSCs plays a key role in the process of the resolution of hepatic fibrosis.As an intracellular second messenger, phospha- tidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) has been found for 17 years, which is related to cell signaling. PI3K catalyzes the phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol (PI) at the 3-OH position to generate phosphatidylinositoltriphosphate (PIP3). |
