AUTHOR=Ruan Bai , Duan Juan-Li , Xu Hao , Tao Kai-Shan , Han Hua , Dou Guo-Rui , Wang Lin 

TITLE=Capillarized Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cells Undergo Partial Endothelial-Mesenchymal Transition to Actively Deposit Sinusoidal ECM in Liver Fibrosis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2021.671081

DOI=10.3389/fcell.2021.671081

ISSN=2296-634X

ABSTRACT=Tissue-specific endothelial cells (ECs) are more than simply a barrier lining capillaries, and have been proved to be capable of remarkable plasticity to become active collagen matrix-producing myofibroblasts (MFs) in solid organs with fibrosis. Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) also participate in the development of hepatic fibrosis, but the exact roles and underlying mechanism have been poorly understood in addition to capillarization. In this study, we demonstrated, by using single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), lineage-tracing and colocalization analysis, that fibrotic LSECs undergo partial endothelial mesenchymal transition (EndMT), with a subset of LSECs acquiring a MF-like phenotype. These phenotypic changes made LSECs substantial producers of extracellular matrix (ECM) preferentially deposited in liver sinusoids but not septal/portal scars as demonstrated by immunofluorescence in animal models and patients with fibrosis/cirrhosis, likely due to their limited migration. Bioinformatic analysis verified that LSECs undergo successive phenotypic transitions from capillarization to mesenchymal-like cells in liver fibrosis. Furthermore, blockade of LSECs capillarization by using YC-1, a selective eNOS-sGC activator, effectively attenuated liver damage and fibrogenesis as well as mesenchymal features of LSECs, suggesting that capillarization of LSECs might be upstream to their mesenchymal transition during fibrosis. In conclusion, we here report that capillarized LSECs undergo a partial EndMT characterized by increased ECM production without activating cell mobility, leading to perisinusoidal ECM deposition that aggravated liver function and fibrogenesis. Targeting this transitional process may be of great value for anti-fibrotic treatment of liver fibrosis.