Abstract
AIM: To investigate the role of embryonic liver fordin (ELF) in liver fibrosis by regulating hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) glucose glycolysis. METHODS: The expression of ELF and the glucose glycolysis-related proteins were evaluated in activated HSCs. siRNA was used to silence ELF expression in activated HSCs in vitro and the subsequent changes in PI3K/Akt signaling and glucose glycolysis-related proteins were observed. RESULTS: The expression of ELF increased remarkably in HSCs of the fibrosis mouse model and HSCs that were cultured for 3 wk in vitro. Glucose glycolysis-related proteins showed an obvious increase in the activated HSCs, such as phosphofructokinase, platelet and glucose transporter 1. ELF-siRNA, which perfectly silenced the expression of ELF in activated HSCs, led to the induction of glucose glycolysis-related proteins and extracellular matrix (ECM) components. Moreover, pAkt, which is an important downstream factor in PI3K/Akt signaling, showed a significant change in response to the ELF silencing. The expression of glucose glycolysis-related proteins and ECM components decreased remarkably when the PI3K/Akt signaling was blocked by Ly294002 in the activated HSCs. CONCLUSION: ELF is involved in HSC glucose glycolysis by regulating PI3K/Akt signaling.