Fibrosis in the liver can be stopped and even reversed in mice by giving them a peptide that blocks a protein associated with overproduction of scar tissue in the liver, according to research conducted at the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (Buck M and Chojkier M. PLoS ONE. 2007;2[12]:e1372).
The investigators discovered that the progression of liver fibrosis in mice depends on activation of a protein called ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK). They found that blocking RSK with an inhibitory peptide not only stopped the progression of fibrosis, it reversed some of the cell damage that had already occurred.
The researchers discovered a similar activation of RSK in livers from patients with severe liver fibrosis but not in livers from healthy individuals. They noted that their data indicate that RSK is essential to the development . . . [Full Text of this Article]
