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Home > Healthcare Professionals > Research Awards > 2008 Research Awards > Dr. Xiaosong Jiang

Dr. Xiaosong Jiang, MD

Congressman John Joseph Moakley Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. University of California Davis Health System, Sacramento, California. "The Role of Hepatic Stellate Cell Proliferation in Liver Fibrogenesis."

Many different chronic liver diseases, including hepatitis C, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and alcoholic liver disease, can lead to the development of fibrosis, or excessive scarring of the liver. This scarring can lead in turn to cirrhosis and liver cancer. It is imperative for researchers and physicians to clarify on a cellular and molecular mechanism how liver fibrosis develops, so that effective therapies can be found.

Dr. Jiang’s study targets the hepatic stellate cell, a type of cell that plays a central role in liver fibrosis development. As other liver cells die and are replaced, they are usually cleaned by macrophages and neutrophils in the liver. In a sick or injured liver, however, there are too many damaged cells to clean up efficiently. In this situation, stellate cells become responsible for engulfing the dying cells. As the stellate cells become more active in this respect, they also begin to produce scar tissue at a faster rate. The goal of this study is to identify the series of molecular signals that cause hepatic stellate cells to multiply and become overly active. If these signaling pathways can be identified and blocked, then it may be possible to slow or stop the scarring process.

Dr. Jiang hypothesizes that integrins; a group of molecules on the cell surface, play a role in the signaling pathway that tells hepatic stellate cells to multiply. Integrins are also important in the engulfment of dying cells. Thus the primary goal of this study will be to determine whether integrins play a role in the engulfment of dead cells by stellate cells in the liver. The secondary goal will be to find out if mice lacking integrins are protected from fibrosis and if mice with fibrosis can be treated with a medication that blocks integrin. These studies may lead to the development of new therapies aimed at reversing or preventing liver fibrosis.

Page updated: August 14th, 2008