Hepatic stellate cells (HSC) undergo transdifferentiation (activation) from lipid-storing
pericytes to myofibroblastic cells to participate in liver fibrogenesis. Our recent work
demonstrates that depletion of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ)
constitutes one of the key molecular events for HSC activation and that ectopic expression of
this nuclear receptor achieves the phenotypic reversal of activated HSC to the quiescent
cells. The present study extends these findings to test a novel hypothesis that adipogenic …