Head: prof dr Sven Francque
Steatosis and portal hypertension – role of autophagy and ER stress
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly recognized as an important source of liver-related morbidity and mortality, taking epidemic proportions because of its intimate link with the metabolic syndrome and its features. Steatosis can be accompanied by signs of inflammation and hepatocellular damage, leading to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
In a rat model of steatosis and steatohepatitis, we previously demonstrated that a methionine–choline-deficient (MCD) diet rapidly induces steatosis and at a later stage also signs of inflammation and oxidative stress. In this rat model of severe NAFLD, we study the mechanisms of portal hypertension in relation to the severity of steatosis. Our research focuses on the mechanisms of intrahepatic resistance and its determinants in experimental NAFLD and the underlying immunological changes of the innate and adaptive immune system. More recently we also started to study the role of autophagy and ER stress in this mechanisms as autophagy plays a major role in the lipid metabolism and lipid accumulation.
PhDs & Projects
The role of alterations in intrahepatic vascular resistance and its underlying mechanisms in the pathophysiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
PhD Cédric Peleman
Role and modulation of hepatic hypoxia in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
PhD Jonathan Mertens
The triad between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance and type 1 diabetes mellitus and its association with cardiovascular and renal complications
PhD Shivani Chotkoe
The role and reversibility of vascular alterations in the development, progression and regression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease