Current Treatment Regimens and Promising Molecular Therapies for Chronic Hepatobiliary Diseases
Chronic hepatobiliary damage progressively leads to fibrosis, which may evolve into cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma. The fight against the increasing incidence of liver-related morbidity and mortality is challenged by a lack of clinically validated early-stage biomarkers and the limited av...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Biomolecules |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/15/1/121 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832588931379494912 |
|---|---|
| author | Marilena Durazzo Arianna Ferro Victor Manuel Navarro-Tableros Andrea Gaido Paolo Fornengo Fiorella Altruda Renato Romagnoli Søren K. Moestrup Pier Luigi Calvo Sharmila Fagoonee |
| author_facet | Marilena Durazzo Arianna Ferro Victor Manuel Navarro-Tableros Andrea Gaido Paolo Fornengo Fiorella Altruda Renato Romagnoli Søren K. Moestrup Pier Luigi Calvo Sharmila Fagoonee |
| author_sort | Marilena Durazzo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Chronic hepatobiliary damage progressively leads to fibrosis, which may evolve into cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma. The fight against the increasing incidence of liver-related morbidity and mortality is challenged by a lack of clinically validated early-stage biomarkers and the limited availability of effective anti-fibrotic therapies. Current research is focused on uncovering the pathogenetic mechanisms that drive liver fibrosis. Drugs targeting molecular pathways involved in chronic hepatobiliary diseases, such as inflammation, hepatic stellate cell activation and proliferation, and extracellular matrix production, are being developed. Etiology-specific treatments, such as those for hepatitis B and C viruses, are already in clinical use, and efforts to develop new, targeted therapies for other chronic hepatobiliary diseases are ongoing. In this review, we highlight the major molecular changes occurring in patients affected by metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, viral hepatitis (Delta virus), and autoimmune chronic liver diseases (autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cholangitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis). Further, we describe how this knowledge is linked to current molecular therapies as well as ongoing preclinical and clinical research on novel targeting strategies, including nucleic acid-, mesenchymal stromal/stem cell-, and extracellular vesicle-based options. Much clinical development is obviously still missing, but the plethora of promising potential treatment strategies in chronic hepatobiliary diseases holds promise for a future reversal of the current increase in morbidity and mortality in this group of patients. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c19fe2f41c034d6e9e1fd32d01973a92 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2218-273X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomolecules |
| spelling | doaj-art-c19fe2f41c034d6e9e1fd32d01973a922025-01-24T13:25:16ZengMDPI AGBiomolecules2218-273X2025-01-0115112110.3390/biom15010121Current Treatment Regimens and Promising Molecular Therapies for Chronic Hepatobiliary DiseasesMarilena Durazzo0Arianna Ferro1Victor Manuel Navarro-Tableros2Andrea Gaido3Paolo Fornengo4Fiorella Altruda5Renato Romagnoli6Søren K. Moestrup7Pier Luigi Calvo8Sharmila Fagoonee9Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so A.M. Dogliotti 14, 10126 Turin, ItalyDepartment of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so A.M. Dogliotti 14, 10126 Turin, Italy2i3T, Società per la Gestione dell’Incubatore di Imprese e per il Trasferimento Tecnologico, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, ItalyDepartment of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so A.M. Dogliotti 14, 10126 Turin, ItalyDepartment of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so A.M. Dogliotti 14, 10126 Turin, ItalyDepartment of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology Centre “Guido Tarone”, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, ItalyGeneral Surgery 2U-Liver Transplant Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Turin, Corso Bramante 88-90, 10126 Turin, ItalyDepartment of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkPediatric Gastroenterology Unit, Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital, Città della Salute e della Scienza, 10126 Turin, ItalyInstitute for Biostructure and Bioimaging, National Research Council, Molecular Biotechnology Centre “Guido Tarone”, 10126 Turin, ItalyChronic hepatobiliary damage progressively leads to fibrosis, which may evolve into cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma. The fight against the increasing incidence of liver-related morbidity and mortality is challenged by a lack of clinically validated early-stage biomarkers and the limited availability of effective anti-fibrotic therapies. Current research is focused on uncovering the pathogenetic mechanisms that drive liver fibrosis. Drugs targeting molecular pathways involved in chronic hepatobiliary diseases, such as inflammation, hepatic stellate cell activation and proliferation, and extracellular matrix production, are being developed. Etiology-specific treatments, such as those for hepatitis B and C viruses, are already in clinical use, and efforts to develop new, targeted therapies for other chronic hepatobiliary diseases are ongoing. In this review, we highlight the major molecular changes occurring in patients affected by metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, viral hepatitis (Delta virus), and autoimmune chronic liver diseases (autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cholangitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis). Further, we describe how this knowledge is linked to current molecular therapies as well as ongoing preclinical and clinical research on novel targeting strategies, including nucleic acid-, mesenchymal stromal/stem cell-, and extracellular vesicle-based options. Much clinical development is obviously still missing, but the plethora of promising potential treatment strategies in chronic hepatobiliary diseases holds promise for a future reversal of the current increase in morbidity and mortality in this group of patients.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/15/1/121liver fibrosisinflammationtherapeutic interventionsnucleic acid-based therapeuticsstem cellsextracellular vesicles |
| spellingShingle | Marilena Durazzo Arianna Ferro Victor Manuel Navarro-Tableros Andrea Gaido Paolo Fornengo Fiorella Altruda Renato Romagnoli Søren K. Moestrup Pier Luigi Calvo Sharmila Fagoonee Current Treatment Regimens and Promising Molecular Therapies for Chronic Hepatobiliary Diseases Biomolecules liver fibrosis inflammation therapeutic interventions nucleic acid-based therapeutics stem cells extracellular vesicles |
| title | Current Treatment Regimens and Promising Molecular Therapies for Chronic Hepatobiliary Diseases |
| title_full | Current Treatment Regimens and Promising Molecular Therapies for Chronic Hepatobiliary Diseases |
| title_fullStr | Current Treatment Regimens and Promising Molecular Therapies for Chronic Hepatobiliary Diseases |
| title_full_unstemmed | Current Treatment Regimens and Promising Molecular Therapies for Chronic Hepatobiliary Diseases |
| title_short | Current Treatment Regimens and Promising Molecular Therapies for Chronic Hepatobiliary Diseases |
| title_sort | current treatment regimens and promising molecular therapies for chronic hepatobiliary diseases |
| topic | liver fibrosis inflammation therapeutic interventions nucleic acid-based therapeutics stem cells extracellular vesicles |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/15/1/121 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marilenadurazzo currenttreatmentregimensandpromisingmoleculartherapiesforchronichepatobiliarydiseases AT ariannaferro currenttreatmentregimensandpromisingmoleculartherapiesforchronichepatobiliarydiseases AT victormanuelnavarrotableros currenttreatmentregimensandpromisingmoleculartherapiesforchronichepatobiliarydiseases AT andreagaido currenttreatmentregimensandpromisingmoleculartherapiesforchronichepatobiliarydiseases AT paolofornengo currenttreatmentregimensandpromisingmoleculartherapiesforchronichepatobiliarydiseases AT fiorellaaltruda currenttreatmentregimensandpromisingmoleculartherapiesforchronichepatobiliarydiseases AT renatoromagnoli currenttreatmentregimensandpromisingmoleculartherapiesforchronichepatobiliarydiseases AT sørenkmoestrup currenttreatmentregimensandpromisingmoleculartherapiesforchronichepatobiliarydiseases AT pierluigicalvo currenttreatmentregimensandpromisingmoleculartherapiesforchronichepatobiliarydiseases AT sharmilafagoonee currenttreatmentregimensandpromisingmoleculartherapiesforchronichepatobiliarydiseases |