ABC transporters as therapeutic targets for liver fibrosis

Liver fibrosis is caused by hepatic myofibroblasts that produce excessive amounts of extracellular matrix proteins, such as collagens. In this thesis we show that the synthesis and transport of leukotrienes, e.g. mediators of inflammation, by HSC and PMF are important for their transdifferentiation to become proliferating and collagen-producing myofibroblasts. The absence of the leukotriene transporter, multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (Mrp1) attenuated liver fibrosis in mice exposed to the carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), an animal model for studying liver fibrosis.