| Abstract: | Hepatic cirrhosis is characterized by the replacement of normal liver parenchyma by collagenous fibrous tissue. Although hepatocytes in the adult retain the ability to divide, under certain circumstances hepatocyte death leads to replacement with fibroblasts and collagen. Whether a particular form of hepatocyte injury leads to cirrhosis is dependent upon the stimulus for the injury and is also highly variable between individuals. It has recently been shown that gamma interferon inhibits collagen synthesis in vitro and fibrosis in vivo. I suggest that individuals who are prone to hepatic cirrhosis from a given stimulus are low producers of gamma interferon while high gamma interferon producers are relatively protected from cirrhosis. I also hypothesize that exogenous gamma interferon administration may halt or slow the progression of cirrhosis in patients with early progressive cirrhosis. Alternatively, endogenous gamma interferon production could be stimulated in these patients with progressive cirrhosis. One agent which may be useful for inducing endogenous gamma interferon is GE-132, an organogermanium. |
