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Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Development of an Ethanol-induced Fibrotic Liver Model in Zebrafish to Study Progenitor Cell-mediated Hepatocyte Regeneration
Published on: May 13, 2016
Alcohol-induced alterations of the hepatocyte cytoskeleton
Blythe D Shepard1, Pamela L Tuma
1Department of Biology, The Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20064, USA.
Abstract:
The hepatocyte cytoskeleton consists of three filamentous networks: microtubules, actin microfilaments and keratin intermediate filaments. Because of the abundance of the proteins that comprise each system and the central role each network plays in a variety of cellular processes, the three filament systems have been the focus of a host of studies aimed at understanding the progression of alcohol-induced liver injury. In this review, we will briefly discuss the hepatic organization of each cytoskeletal network and highlight some components of each system. We will also describe what is known about ethanol-induced changes in the dynamics and distributions of each cytoskeletal system and discuss what is known about changes in protein expression levels and post-translational modifications. Finally, we will describe the possible consequences of these cytoskeletal alterations on hepatocyte function and how they might contribute to the progression of liver disease.
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