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Abstract Details
GSK-3 in Liver Diseases: Friend or Foe?
Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Res. 2020 May 15;1867(9):118743.doi: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2020.118743. Online ahead of print.
Maria R Emma1, Giuseppa Augello1, Antonella Cusimano1, Antonina Azzolina1, Giuseppe Montalto2, James A McCubrey3, Melchiorre Cervello4
Author information
1Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council (CNR), Palermo, Italy.
2Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council (CNR), Palermo, Italy; Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
3Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
4Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council (CNR), Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: melchiorre.cervello@irib.cnr.it.
Abstract
Liver diseases, including hepatitis due to hepatitis B or C virus infection, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma pose major challenges for overall health due to limited curative treatment options. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of these diseases. A better understanding of the signaling pathways involved in the pathogenesis of liver diseases can help to improve the efficacy of emerging therapies, mainly based on pharmacological approaches, which influence one or more specific molecules involved in key signal transduction pathways. These emerging therapies are very promising for the prevention and treatment of liver diseases. One promising druggable molecular target is the multifunctional serine/threonine kinase, glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3). In this review, we discuss conditions in which GSK-3 is implicated in liver diseases. In addition, we explore newly emerging drugs that target GSK-3β, as well as their potential use in and impact on the management of liver diseases.