Role of Angiogenesis in the Pathogenesis of NAFLD

Lin Lei (1, 2) , Haquima Ei Mourabit (2, 1) , Chantal Housset (3, 1, 2) , Axelle Cadoret (1, 2) , Sara Lemoinne (1, 2, 3)

1 CRSA - Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine
2 ICAN - Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Cardiovasculaires, du Métabolisme et de la Nutrition = Research Unit on Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases
3 CHU Saint-Antoine [AP-HP]

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the leading cause of chronic liver disease, exposing to the risk of liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Angio-genesis is a complex process leading to the development of new vessels from pre-existing vessels. Angiogenesis is triggered by hypoxia and inflammation and is driven by the action of proangiogenic cytokines, mainly vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In this review, we focus on liver angiogenesis associated with NAFLD and analyze the evidence of liver angiogenesis in animal models of NAFLD and in NAFLD patients. We also report the data explaining the role of angiogenesis in the progression of NAFLD and discuss the potential of targeting angiogenesis, notably VEGF, to treat NAFLD.

Mots clés: non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; liver sinusoidal endothelial cells; vascular endothelial growth factor

Domaines: Hépatologie et Gastroentérologie

Lin Lei, Haquima Ei Mourabit, Chantal Housset, Axelle Cadoret, Sara Lemoinne. Role of Angiogenesis in the Pathogenesis of NAFLD. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2021, 10 (7), pp.1338. ⟨10.3390/jcm10071338⟩. ⟨hal-03190287⟩