BLR&D Research Career Scientist Award

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Bile duct epithelial cells (i.e., cholangiocytes) are the target cells in cholangiopathies such as primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), which are diseases characterized by the damage, proliferation and neoplastic transformation of cholangiocytes. These cholestatic liver diseases (characterized by coordinated proliferation/damage of biliary epithelial cells) along with other cholangiopathies represent a major clinical challenge due to the lack of effective therapeutic interventions resulting in the need for liver transplantation during end-stage liver disease. Management of cholangiopathies (including drug- or viral-induced liver injury) represents one of the major challenges for Veterans Health. Targeting the neuroendocrine factors that respond to cholestasis resulting from tissue injury may help limit inflammation and fibrosis that occur during hepatobiliary damage. There is a critical need to understand the neuroendocrine triggers of cholangiocyte growth and their responses to damage during cholestasis, which will help identify key signaling pathways that represent viable targets for the development of effective therapeutic agents. Our long-term research goal is to develop an understanding of the neuroendocrine factors and signaling mechanisms regulating biliary growth during cholestasis, fatty liver and alcohol-induced liver disease, which will provide a foundation for the discovery of prevention and new pharmaceutical interventions for cholangiopathies and liver diseases characterized by hepatic fibrosis. For my current funded VA Merit Award, the central hypothesis is based upon the postulate that the secretin/secretin receptor (Sct/SR) axis signaling is key for mediating the proliferative and activated profibrogenic biliary phenotype that contributes to the progression of hepatic steatosis and fibrosis during the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In addition, my research program is funded by multiple collaborative NIH R01 grants that explore various aspects of the regulation of biliary growth and hepatic fibrosis by neuroendocrine factors such as secretin, melatonin, serotonin and miRNAs in models of cholestasis, NAFLD, and alcohol-induce liver disease. My collaborative effort with multiple VA investigators has been high productive and has resulted in many publications in high impact journals. The exploration of the neuroendocrine features of cholangiocytes will provide new avenues for the development of therapeutic interventions for these diseases. Our contribution is significant since this is a critical step to provide translational knowledge for the development of therapies for cholangiopathies. These findings will also have broader implications for other hepatic diseases characterized by hepatic fibrosis.