It is found that blocking dopamine receptor may reverse liver cirrhosis and pulmonary fibrosis

In a new study, researchers from Mayo Clinic and other research institutions in the United States have identified a way to slow and reverse the uncontrolled formation of internal scar tissue (called fibrosis) in cell and mouse models There is little effective treatment for this disease process, and it can not be cured When it occurs in organs such as liver (cirrhosis) or lung (pulmonary fibrosis), it may be fatal Relevant research results were recently published in Science In the Journal of translational medicine, the title of the paper is "selective Yap / TAZ infection in" fibroblasts via dopamine receptor D1 agonism reverses fibrosis”。 In the past, scientists have identified two proteins that regulate gene function and provide "instructions" for fibrosis: YAP and TAZ However, yap and TAZ are involved in so many other useful actions that they cannot be generally stopped So, at the Mayo Clinic, researcher Daniel Led by Dr tschumperlin, the researchers focused on the cells that form scar tissue, called fibroblasts After being damaged, these cells migrate to the damaged area and produce collagen, which can form scaffolds around the cells and repair the tissue In fibrosis, the amount of collagen released by fibroblasts can interfere with organ function "About five years ago, we started this work with seed funding from the Mayo Clinic biomedical discovery center After all, fibrosis is an important but poorly understood disease process," explained Dr tschumperlin We have identified that transcriptional regulatory proteins yap and TAZ are important for the progression of fibrosis, but there is no feasible way to target this pathway for treatment " This new study reports a new target: the dopamine receptor The researchers found that the receptor is specific to fibroblasts in the lungs and liver Stimulation can block yap and TAZ, thus reducing and reversing the ability of fibroblasts to grow and form scar tissue Stimulation of dopamine receptors in fibroblasts seems to shift them from matrix deposition supporting fibrosis to matrix degradation supporting fibrosis regression or reversion In lung and liver fibrosis models, this approach reverses the fibrosis process in these organs.