A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of emricasan in patients with NASH and F1-F3 fibrosis.

Background & Aims: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is characterized by hepatocyte steatosis, ballooning, and lobular inflammation which may lead to fibrosis. Lipotoxicity activates caspases, which cause apoptosis and inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β and IL-18) production. Emricasan is a pan-caspase inhibitor that decreases serum aminotransferases and caspase activation in patients with NASH.

Human keratinocytes express functional CD14 and toll-like receptor 4.

CD14 and the toll-like receptor 4 have been known to play an important role in lipopolysaccharide-induced cellular responses in bacterial infections. Although CD14 and toll-like receptor 4 expression has been demonstrated in a number of myeloid cells, much less is known about the expression and function of these lipopolysaccharide receptors on nonleukocytes. In this study, we demonstrate that human keratinocytes are capable of expressing functional CD14 and toll-like receptor 4.