Development of a high throughput system to screen compounds that revert the activated hepatic stellate cells to a quiescent-like state

Chronic liver injury induces fibrosis that often proceeds to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, indicating that prevention and/or resolution of fibrosis is a promising therapeutic target. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the major driver of fibrosis by expressing extracellular matrices (ECM). HSCs, in the normal liver, are quiescent and activated by liver injury to become myofibroblasts that proliferate and produce ECM. It has been shown that activated HSCs (aHSCs) become a "quiescent-like" state by removal of liver insults. Therefore, deactivation agents can be a therapeutic drug for advanced liver fibrosis. Using aHSCs prepared from human induced pluripotent stem cells, we found that aHSCs were reverted to a quiescent-like state by a combination of chemical compounds that either inhibit or activate a signaling pathway, Lanifibranor, SB431542, Dorsomorphin, retinoic acid, palmitic acid and Y27632, in vitro. Based on these results, we established a high throughput system to screen agents that induce deactivation and demonstrate that a single chemical compound can induce deactivation.