Overview
- In the October issue of Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, an Osaka Metropolitan University team reports that lawsone curtailed hepatic stellate cell activation in lab and mouse models.
- Using a custom screening system, researchers identified lawsone as a lead compound after testing 1,880 candidates for effects on collagen-related gene activity.
- In mice with induced fibrosis, lawsone reduced collagen deposition and liver injury markers and lowered fibrosis signals including YAP, αSMA, and COL1A, while increasing cytoglobin.
- Mechanistic data indicate the compound promotes degradation of YAP and boosts CYGB, with additional decreases in profibrotic proteins such as HSP47 and TIMP1 noted in cell studies.
- The group is developing a delivery system to target activated stellate cells, as no human trials have begun and effective antifibrotic drugs remain limited.