Vascular adhesion protein-1 promotes liver inflammation and drives hepatic fibrosis

J Clin Invest. 2015 Feb;125(2):501-20. doi: 10.1172/JCI73722. Epub 2014 Dec 22.

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) encompasses a range of manifestations, including steatosis and cirrhosis. Progressive disease is characterized by hepatic leukocyte accumulation in the form of steatohepatitis. The adhesion molecule vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) is a membrane-bound amine oxidase that promotes leukocyte recruitment to the liver, and the soluble form (sVAP-1) accounts for most circulating monoamine oxidase activity, has insulin-like effects, and can initiate oxidative stress. Here, we determined that hepatic VAP-1 expression is increased in patients with chronic liver disease and that serum sVAP-1 levels are elevated in patients with NAFLD compared with those in control individuals. In 4 murine hepatic injury models, an absence or blockade of functional VAP-1 reduced inflammatory cell recruitment to the liver and attenuated fibrosis. Moreover, disease was reduced in animals expressing a catalytically inactive form of VAP-1, implicating enzyme activity in the disease pathogenesis. Within the liver, hepatic stromal cells expressed functional VAP-1, and evaluation of cultured cells revealed that sVAP-1 promotes leukocyte migration through catalytic generation of ROS, which depended on VAP-1 enzyme activity. VAP-1 enhanced stromal cell spreading and wound closure and modulated expression of profibrotic genes. Together, these results link the amine oxidase activity of VAP-1 with hepatic inflammation and fibrosis and suggest that targeting VAP-1 has therapeutic potential for NAFLD and other chronic fibrotic liver diseases.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Amine Oxidase (Copper-Containing) / blood*
  • Animals
  • Cell Adhesion Molecules / blood*
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Movement
  • Chronic Disease
  • Cohort Studies
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic*
  • Hepatitis / enzymology
  • Hepatitis / pathology
  • Hepatitis / therapy
  • Humans
  • Inflammation / enzymology
  • Inflammation / pathology
  • Inflammation / therapy
  • Leukocytes / enzymology*
  • Leukocytes / pathology
  • Liver Cirrhosis / enzymology*
  • Liver Cirrhosis / pathology
  • Liver Cirrhosis / therapy
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Middle Aged
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / enzymology*
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / pathology
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / therapy
  • Oxidative Stress
  • Reactive Oxygen Species / metabolism

Substances

  • Cell Adhesion Molecules
  • Reactive Oxygen Species
  • AOC3 protein, human
  • Amine Oxidase (Copper-Containing)
  • semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase-vascular adhesion protein-1, mouse