AG Berres

Chronic liver disease is a common worldwide health burden with increasing incidence. Chronic hepatocyte injury caused by chronic viral hepatitis, excessive alcohol consumption or accumulation of nutritional fat in the liver (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) initiate a chronic inflammatory response characterized by the recruitment and accumulation of inflammatory cell to the liver. This recruitment is orchestrated by cytokines, especially by chemotactic active chemokines. Sustained hepatocyte necrosis and chronic inflammation result in activation of hepatic stellate cells and accumulation of collagen in the tissue leading to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis impairing liver architecture and function. Moreover, these processes favor the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Our group focus on analysing the complex interactions between liver resident cells and infiltrating immune cells governed by chemokines and cytokines in the setting of chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma.