P2X7R orchestrates the progression of murine hepatic fibrosis by making a feedback loop from macrophage to hepatic stellate cells.

HSCs (hepatic stellate cells) contribute to the excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, inflammatory pathways and crucial cell-cell interactions in hepatic disease leading to fibrosis. P2x7R is considered a potential orchestrater in liver fibrosis. For this reason, this work explored the role of P2x7R in liver fibrosis and the mechanism by which P2x7R in macrophages promotes fibrogenesis. In a model of liver fibrosis induced by administration of thioacetamide (TAA), inhibition of P2x7R with its selective inhibitor A438079 reversed TAA-induced liver damage and fibrosis. The mechanism was linked to inhibition of P2x7R-NLRP3 inflammasome activation and thereby infiltration of macrophages and neutrophils into the liver. This result indicated that the P2x7R-TLR4-NLRP3 axis is involved in the process of TGF-β-mediated ECM deposition in HSCs. Ectopic overexpression of P2x7R lowered the threshold of extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and maintained HSCs in an activated state. The culture medium of THP-1 macrophages stimulated by LPS/ATP aggravated ECM deposition in HSCs by activating P2x7R. Additionally, IL-1β secreted by LPS / ATP activated macrophages amplified fibrosis. These data indicate that P2x7R plays a key regulative role in the activation and maintenance of HSCs promoted by macrophages. Thus, pharmacological inhibition of P2x7R could be a potential therapeutic mechanism to treat human liver fibrosis.