[Sportschosun Reporter Jang Jong-ho] Korean researchers have, for the first time, identified that bone marrow protects against liver damage caused by chronic drinking and suppresses the progression of alcoholic liver disease.
A joint research team led by Professor Jung Won-il of the Graduate School of Medical Science at KAIST and Professor Lee Young-sun of the Liver Center at Korea University Guro Hospital analyzed animal models and samples from patients with alcoholic fatty liver disease to determine why some patients do not progress beyond the fatty liver stage despite chronic alcohol consumption. The team also included Professor Jung Won-il and Professor Lee Young-sun, Dr. Shim Young-ri and Dr. Kim Hee-hoon of Yale University, and doctoral student Kim Min-jeong of the KAIST Graduate School of Medical Science.
In particular, the researchers examined whether glutamate, a substance secreted by bone marrow stem cells that transmits signals between nerve cells, promotes the migration of anti-inflammatory immune cells to the liver and thereby helps suppress the progression of alcoholic liver disease.
The results showed that bone marrow stem cells exposed to alcohol secreted glutamate, which induced anti-inflammatory immune cells to move to the damaged liver. These immune cells then curbed excessive liver inflammation and slowed the progression of alcoholic liver disease.
By contrast, in mice in which this protective mechanism was blocked, the migration of anti-inflammatory immune cells to the liver decreased, and liver damage and inflammation became more severe. The study also found that in patients with alcoholic fatty liver disease, blood levels of IL-1R2, an anti-inflammatory protein, were higher than in healthy individuals, suggesting its potential use as an early diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for alcoholic liver disease.
Professor Jung said, "This study provides evidence that allows alcoholic liver disease to be understood from a new perspective beyond the conventional gut-liver axis, namely the BM-Liver Axis," adding, "If this pathway is targeted, it could be developed into a treatment strategy to prevent the progression of alcoholic liver disease."
Professor Lee stated, "This is the first study to explain why many heavy drinkers do not see their disease worsen beyond the fatty liver stage," and added, "Since we have confirmed the potential of IL-1R2 as both a biomarker and therapeutic target for early alcoholic liver disease, we expect this to help with early diagnosis and the development of new treatments."
Meanwhile, the study was carried out with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) and KHIDI's physician-scientist training program. The findings were recently published in the international journal Clinical and Molecular Hepatology (IF 21.7) under the title "Mechanism of Suppression of Alcoholic Liver Disease Through Bone Marrow Stem Cell-Derived Glutamate."
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
