Norihiro Sakai, Kenya Kamimura, Hirotaka Miyamoto, Masayoshi Ko, Takuro Nagoya, Toru Setsu, Akira Sakamaki, Takeshi Yokoo, Hiroteru Kamimura, Hiroyuki Soki, Ayako Tokunaga, Tatsuo Inamine, Mikiro Nakashima, Hatsune Enomoto, Kazuki Kousaka, Hidehisa Tachiki, Kaname Ohyama, Shuji Terai
BACKGROUND: To establish a treatment option for liver fibrosis, the possibility of the drug repurposing theory was investigated, with a focus on the off-target effects of active pharmaceutical ingredients. METHODS: First, several active pharmaceutical ingredients were screened for their effects on the gene expression in the hepatocytes using chimeric mice with humanized hepatocytes. As per the gene expression-based screening assay for 36 medications, we assessed the mechanism of the antifibrotic effect of letrozole, a third-generation aromatase inhibitor, in mouse models of liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4 ) and a methionine choline-deficient (MCD) diet...
January 2023: Journal of Gastroenterology