The multifaceted role of cathepsins in liver disease

[摘要] Proteases are the most abundant enzyme gene family in vertebrates and they execute essential functions in all living organisms. Their main role is to hydrolase the peptide bond within proteins, a process also called proteolysis. Contrary to the conventional paradigm, proteases are not only random catalytic devices, but can perform highly selective and targeted cleavage of specific substrates, finely modulating multiple essential cellular processes. Lysosomal protease cathepsins comprise 3 families of proteases that preferentially act within acidic cellular compartments, but they can also be found in other cellular locations. They can operate alone or as part of signalling cascades and regulatory circuits, playing important roles in apoptosis, extracellular matrix remodelling, hepatic stellate cell activation, autophagy and metastasis, contributing to the initiation, development and progression of liver disease. In this review, we comprehensively summarise current knowledge on the role of lysosomal cathepsins in liver disease, with a particular emphasis on liver fibrosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Association for the Study of the Liver.

[发布日期] 2021-11-01

[关键词] Cathepsin;protease;lysosome;liver fibrosis;NAFLD;hepatocellular carcinoma