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Potential therapeutic role of osteopontin in alcoholic liver disease

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 11, page 3 (2014)Cite this article

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A recent study published in Hepatology demonstrated that mice overexpressing osteopontin in hepatocytes had less steatosis, inflammation and liver injury compared with wild-type mice and osteopontin knockout mice when fed the ethanol Lieber-DeCarli diet. The authors suggest that increasing the secretion of osteopontin and/or its excretion to the bile and faeces or oral administration of milk osteopontin could have therapeutic potential in alcoholic liver disease (ALD).

Osteopontin is induced in patients with alcoholism, but its role in the pathophysiology of ALD remains unclear. “Preliminary studies supporting this project indicated that dietary supplementation with milk osteopontin protected wild-type mice from chronic alcohol-induced liver injury by restoring tight junction protein expression,” explains Natalia Nieto, corresponding author. The researchers wanted to take the project further by investigating whether osteopontin has a therapeutic role in slowing or stopping the progression of alcoholic hepatitis once it has started.

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References

  1. Ge, X. et al. Osteopontin binding to lipopolysaccharide lowers tumor necrosis factor-α and prevents early alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. Hepatology 10.1002/hep.26931

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  1. Isobel Leake
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Leake, I. Potential therapeutic role of osteopontin in alcoholic liver disease. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 11, 3 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2013.228

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2013.228

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