Leptin has profibrogenic effects in liver, although the mechanisms of this process are unclear. We sought to elucidate the direct and indirect effects of leptin on hepatic stellate cells (HSCs).

HSCs from Sprague–Dawley rats were exposed to leptin and expression of collagen-I, tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP1), transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2) was assessed. The effects of medium from Kupffer cells (KCs) and sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) following leptin were evaluated in HSCs; α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) production and KC signaling were analyzed.

HSCs were not activated by incubation with leptin. However, HSCs cultured with medium taken from KCs that were incubated with leptin had increased expression of collagen I, TIMP1, TGF-β1, and CTGF/CCN2, as well as αSMA protein levels and proliferation. These effects were leptin receptor dependent because conditioned medium from KCs isolated from leptin receptor-deficient Zucker (fa/fa) rats did not activate HSCs. In KCs incubated with leptin, messenger RNA and protein expression of TGF-β1 and CTGF/CCN2 increased. Leptin potentiated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, AKT, and extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2 phosphorylation in KCs and increased AP-1 and nuclear factor-κB DNA binding. Finally, addition of anti-TGF-β to KC-conditioned medium inhibited HSC expression of collagen I, TIMP1, and CTGF/CCN2, whereas signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 inhibitor attenuated TGF-β1 production by KC.

Leptin mediates HSC activation and liver fibrosis through indirect effects on KC; these effects are partly mediated by TGF-β1.