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 and may therefore serve as attractive targets for anti-fibrogenic drug development. Ursodeoxycholyl Lysophosphatidylethanolamide (UDCA-LPE) is a synthetic bile acid-phospholipid conjugate with profound hepatoprotective and anti-fibrogenic functions in vitro and in vivo. Herein, we aimed to study the interaction of UDCA-LPE with pro-fibrogenic integrin and TGFβ1 signaling as crucial pathways during hepatofibrogenesis. Results: To analyze the mechanism of fu…