The bile acid-phospholipid conjugate Ursodeoxycholyl Lysophosphatidylethanolamide (UDCA-LPE) disturbs pro-fibrogenic Integrin and TGFβ signaling

Background: Integrin receptors, which are involved in cell-cell and cell-matrix interaction emerge as crucial mediators of TGFβ1 activation in liver fibrosis. Ursodeoxycholyl Lysophosphatidylethanolamide (UDCA-LPE) is a synthetic bile acid-phospholipid conjugate with hepatoprotective and anti-fibrogenic functions in vitro and in vivo. In this study we aim to elucidate signaling pathways, which mediate anti-fibrogenic action of UDCA-LPE. Results: In order to promote pro-fibrogenic signaling upon extracellular matrix binding integrins recruit focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and SRC kinase, which are phosphorylated in…