Scientists have identified a possible reason why the liver may fail to fully recover from alcohol-related damage even after a person stops drinking.
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that damaged liver cells can become trapped in a kind of regenerative limbo, preventing the organ from effectively rebuilding itself.
The damage may continue after drinking stops
The liver has a remarkable ability to repair itself. However, researchers found that alcohol-related liver disease can interfere with this regenerative process.
Instead of successfully returning to a healthy state and producing new functional cells, damaged liver cells may remain stuck in an abnormal condition.
This could help explain why some people continue to experience liver problems even after giving up alcohol.
Inflammation may be causing the problem
The researchers linked the impaired regeneration to inflammation and errors involving RNA, the molecules that help cells use genetic information to produce proteins.
According to the study summary, alcohol-related inflammation appears to contribute to these RNA errors, disrupting the normal processes needed for liver cells to recover and regenerate.
The finding offers a new way of looking at alcohol-related liver disease. The problem may not simply be the damage caused while alcohol is being consumed, but also the failure of damaged cells to properly restart the repair process afterwards.
A pathway could offer a new treatment route
The researchers also identified a biological pathway that could potentially be targeted to restore the liver’s ability to repair itself.
While the findings point towards a possible future treatment strategy, further research would be needed to determine whether targeting this pathway can safely and effectively improve liver regeneration in patients.
The study provides scientists with another piece of the puzzle in understanding why recovery from alcohol-related liver disease can be difficult, even after drinking has stopped.