Scientists developing new liver drug that reverses damage of binge drinking

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Scientists are developing a cure for cirrhosis of the liver, the scarring caused by severe alcohol abuse, bringing new hope for help heavy drinkers who struggle to give up.

US researchers have found that a drug can block over-production of tissue in response to injury as happens in liver cirrhosis and may also reverse existing damage.

The drug could profoundly improve public health if clinical trials back up the findings.

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Scientists are developing a cure for binge drinking. The drug is hoped to prevent drinking-related liver injury and even reverse existing damage

The work, which was based on animal studies, shows a specially modified protein can stop the tissue growth leading to liver fibrosis, or scarring, according to a report published yesterday in the science journal PLoS Online.

It says a similar mechanism is found in patients with liver damage which could mean they would be helped by the same kind of protein.

The rise in binge drinking in Britain has seen an escalation in rates of liver disease since the 1960s.

Doctors now warn that cirrhosis is commonplace among both men and women in their 20s and 30s.

Liver disease is the fifth biggest killer and around 30,000 people die from the cirrhosis alone each year.

The finding opens the door to treating and curing other conditions that lead to excessive tissue scarring such as viral hepatitis, fatty liver disease, pulmonary fibrosis, scleroderma and burns, say researchers at University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

Martina Buck, assistant professor of medicine at UCSD and the Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, and Mario Chojkie, UCSD professor of medicine and liver specialist at the VA, carried out experiments to interrupt a chain of events resulting in scar tissue.

They found that blocking a protein linked to overproduction of scar tissue not only stopped the progression of fibrosis in mice but reversed some of the cell damage that already occurred.

The researchers discovered the activation of a protein called RSK was critical for the progression of liver fibrosis by stimulating production of collagen after the organ had been damaged.

Although collagen is necessary to heal wounds, excessive collagen causes scars in tissues.

The scientists used mice with severe liver fibrosis – similar to the condition in humans with cirrhosis of the liver – that was induced by chronic treatment with a liver toxin known to cause liver damage.

The animals, which continued having the liver toxin, were given a modified protein or peptide which blocked RSK and slowed down collagen production.

It lso triggered an "executioner" protein, which killed the cells producing liver cirrhosis but not the normal cells.

Dr Buck said: "All control mice had severe liver fibrosis, while all mice that received the RSK-inhibitory peptide had minimal or no liver fibrosis."

The peptide was not harmful to the liver, she said.

"The cells continue to do their normal, healing work but their excess proliferation is controlled.

“Remarkably, it may also allow recovery from liver injury and reversal of liver fibrosis."

The researchers found a similar activation of RSK in humans with severe liver fibrosis but not in healthy livers, suggesting this pathway is also relevant in human liver fibrosis.

Liver biopsies from patients with liver fibrosis also showed activated RSK.

Dr Buck said previous research by the same team in 2001 appeared to show that blocking excess scar tissue would have limited benefits.

She said: "Six years ago, we showed a way to prevent or stop the excessive scarring in animal models.

"Our latest finding proves that we can actually reverse the damage."

 

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