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Intracellular lipid droplets (LDs) are remarkably dynamic and complex organelles that enact regulated storage and release of lipids to fulfil their fundamental roles in energy metabolism, membrane synthesis and provision of lipid-derived signaling molecules. The recent finding that LDs can be selectively degraded by the lysosomal pathway of autophagy through a process termed lipophagy has opened up a new understanding of how lipid metabolism regulates cellular physiology and pathophysiology. Many new functions for autophagic lipid metabolism have now been defined in various diseases including liver disease. Lipophagy was originally described in hepatocytes, where it is critical for maintaining cellular energy homeostasis in obesity and metabolic syndrome. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the selective uptake of LDs by autophagosomes, and inhibition of autophagy has been shown to reduce the β-oxidation of free fatty acids due to the increased accumulation of lipids and LDs. The identification of lipophagy as a new process dedicated to cellular lipid removal has mapped autophagy as an emerging player in cellular lipid metabolism. Pharmacological or genetic modulation of lipophagy might point to possible therapeutic strategies for combating a broad range of liver diseases. This review summarizes recent work focusing on lipophagy and liver disease as well as highlighting challenges and future directions of research. On the other hand, it also offers a glimpse into different strategies that have been used in experimental models to counteract excessive pathological lipophagy in the prevention and treatment of liver disease.

Liver fibrosis represents a frequent event following chronic insult to trigger wound healing reactions with abnormalities of angiogenesis in the liver. Capillarization of liver sinusoidal endothelial cell (LSEC) is the pivotal event during liver angiogenesis. In the current study, we sought to investigate the effect of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver injury and fibrosis in rats, and to further examine the molecular mechanisms of TMP-induced anti-angiogenic effect. We found that TMP significantly ameliorated histopathological feature of liver fibrosis characterized by decreased collagen deposition, hepatocyte apoptosis, and expression of biochemical indicators, such as aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Moreover, TMP appeared to play an essential role in controlling pathological angiogenesis. In addition, TMP attenuated angiogenesis by downregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGF-R2), platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB), and platelet-derived growth factor-β receptor (PDGF-βR), four important factors transmitting pro-angiogenic pathways. Besides, TMP inhibited LSEC capillarization in CCl4-induced liver fibrotic model with the morphological features of increasing sinusoidal fenestrae. Importantly, we found that disruption of angiogenesis is required for TMP to inhibit hepatocyte apoptosis in rats. Treatment with TMP significantly inhibited the expression of Bax, and up-regulated Bcl-2 expression. Interestingly, treatment with angiogenesis-inducer AngII dramatically eliminated the effect of TMP on Bax/Bcl-2 axis. Overall, these results provide novel perspectives to reveal the protective effect of TMP on liver, opening up the possibility of using TMP based anti-angiogenic drugs for the liver diseases.

Inhibiting the major characteristics of alcoholic fatty liver (AFL) such as lipid accumulation, oxidative stress and apoptosis is a promising strategy of treating AFL. Diallyl trisulfide (DATS) is the major constituent isolated from garlic, which shows promise in the treatment of chronic liver disease. However, the effects of DATS on ethanol-induced liver injury and the related mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential protective effects of DATS on AFL and the potential mechanisms. A single intragastric dose of ethanol was given to rats in vivo, while ethanol-stimulated LO2 cells were used as an in vitro model. Our results demonstrated that DATS prevented ethanol-induced injury, as indicated by the reduced activities of aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in the serum and culture medium, and inhibition of cell apoptosis. Furthermore, DATS reduced hepatic steatosis by up-regulating the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α) and down-regulating the expression of sterolregulatory element binding protein 1c(SREBP-1c). In addition, DATS alleviated ethanol-induced oxidative stress by enhancing non-enzymatic antioxidant and enzymatic antioxidants contents and by reducing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA). These data collectively revealed that DATS protected ethanol-induced liver injury by inhibiting lipid accumulation and oxidative stress.