Investigation of antifibrotic targets in human liver fibrosis using a single cell transcriptomics approach

Liver fibrosis (scarring) is a major healthcare burden. Repetitive liver damage, secondary to any cause, results in progressive fibrosis, eventually leading to cirrhosis. Currently, treatment options for patients with chronic liver disease are limited to removal of the underlying cause, if possible, or liver transplantation. However, demand for transplantation greatly outweighs donor organ supply. Therefore, effective antifibrotic therapies are urgently required. 

To enable development of antifibrotic drugs, we need to increase our understanding of how the human liver scars. We will use single-cell transcriptomics, which allows measurement of gene expression levels across thousands of individual cells enabling the identification of scar-forming cells and molecules. 

This research should greatly advance our understanding of human liver scarring, generating relevant, potentially druggable therapeutic targets to treat patients with liver fibrosis. This work should lead to multiple therapeutic targets entering Phase I clinical trials.