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The role of hepatic stellate cells/myofibroblasts

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Portal Hypertension in the 21st Century

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Abstract

The recognition that HSC are provided with contractile properties represents a key acquisition in the knowledge of the biology of this cell typex1. Contraction of activated HSC occurs in vitro in response to different vasoconstrictors. This experimental evidence is representative of HSC contractile status in fibrotic liver, where contraction of activated HSC in response to various stimuli may have important implications in the pathogenesis of portal hypertension and in the contraction of mature scar tissue. Following the demonstration that culture-activated human and rat HSC are able to contract in response to different vasoconstrictors2, 3, the potential involvement of this cell type in the genesis and progression of portal hypertension has been postulated. The presence of a contractile cell type operating in liver sinusoids and in developing scar tissue reinforced the concept of a dynamic component for the increased intrahepatic resistance in cirrhotic liver modifiable by vasodilators4.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Universita degli Studi di Firenze, Viale G.B. Morgagni, 85, I-50134, Firenze, Italy

    Massimo Pinzani

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  1. Massimo Pinzani
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    R. J. Groszmann

  2. Hepatic Hemodynamic Laboratory Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Spain

    J. Bosch

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© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Pinzani, M. (2004). The role of hepatic stellate cells/myofibroblasts. In: Groszmann, R.J., Bosch, J. (eds) Portal Hypertension in the 21st Century. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1042-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1042-9_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-3774-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-1042-9

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