High-mobility group box-1 (
HMGB1) is a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) increased in response to liver injury. Because
HMGB1 is a
ligand for the
receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE), we hypothesized that induction of
HMGB1 could participate in the pathogenesis of
liver fibrosis though RAGE cell-specific signaling mechanisms. Liver
HMGB1 protein expression correlated with
fibrosis stage in patients with
chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV)
infection,
primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), or
alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH). Hepatic
HMGB1 protein expression and secretion increased in five mouse models of
liver fibrosis attributed to
drug-induced liver injury (DILI),
cholestasis, ASH, or
nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
HMGB1 was up-regulated and secreted mostly by hepatocytes and Kupffer cells (KCs) following CCl4 treatment. Neutralization of
HMGB1 protected, whereas injection of recombinant
HMGB1 promoted
liver fibrosis.
Hmgb1 ablation in hepatocytes (Hmgb1ΔHep ) or in myeloid cells (Hmgb1ΔMye ) partially protected, whereas ablation in both (Hmgb1ΔHepΔMye ) prevented
liver fibrosis in vivo. Coculture with hepatocytes or KCs from CCl4 -injected wild-type (WT) mice up-regulated
Collagen type I production by hepatic stellate cells (HSCs); yet, coculture with hepatocytes from CCl4 -injected Hmgb1ΔHep or with KCs from CCl4 -injected Hmgb1ΔMye mice partially blunted this effect. Rage ablation in HSCs (RageΔHSC ) and RAGE neutralization prevented
liver fibrosis. Last, we identified that
HMGB1 stimulated HSC migration and signaled through RAGE to up-regulate
Collagen type I expression by activating the phosphorylated
mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (pMEK)1/2, phosphorylated
extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK)1/2 and pcJun signaling pathway. Conclusion: Hepatocyte and KC-derived
HMGB1 participates in the pathogenesis of
liver fibrosis by signaling through RAGE in HSCs to activate the pMEK1/2, pERK1/2 and pcJun pathway and increase
Collagen type I deposition.