Ziyan Pan, Rasha El Sharkway, Ali Bayoumi, Mayada Metwally, Brian S Gloss, Robert Brink, David Bo Lu, Christopher Liddle, Saleh A Alqahtani, Jun Yu, Philip J O'Connell, Jacob George, Mohammed Eslam
Transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) drives fibrosis and disease progression in a number of chronic disorders, but targeting this ubiquitously expressed cytokine may not yield a viable and safe antifibrotic therapy. Here, we sought to identify alternative ways to inhibit TGFβ signaling using human hepatic stellate cells and macrophages from humans and mice in vitro, as well as mouse models of liver, kidney, and lung fibrosis. We identified Mer tyrosine kinase (MERTK) as a TGFβ-inducible effector of fibrosis that was up-regulated during fibrosis in multiple organs in three mouse models...
April 3, 2024: Science Translational Medicine