Evidence mapPaperPMID 41486513Full record

ArticleAdvanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)2026

Liver Stiffness Rises Early in MASLD and Drives Inflammation, Lipid Dysmetabolism, and Fibrosis via Piezo1-YAP Mechanotransduction.

Juan Ma, Ning Xie, Ziwei Wang, Xiru Liang, Yulong Han, Qiang Zhao, Ming Wang, Hongwei Lu, Wanyi Kou, William Alazawi and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Juan MaDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Ning XieDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Ziwei WangDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Xiru LiangDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Yulong HanState Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, P. R. China.
Qiang ZhaoThe Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Ming WangThe Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Hongwei LuDepartment of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Wanyi KouDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
William AlazawiBarts Liver Centre Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Jinhai WangDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Lu LiDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Ning LiuDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Hainan General Hospital, Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou, P. R. China.
Na LiuDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University), Haikou, P. R. China.
Haitao ShiDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Feng XuThe Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4351-0222

Funding

IIT Clinical Research Fund of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University M070Key Research and Development Projects of Shaanxi Province 2023GXLH-033Natural Science Foundation of China 12432015,82560549Xi'an Jiaotong University Medical "Basic-Clinical" Integrated Innovation YXJLRH2022100
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is shaped by metabolic injury and tissue mechanics. This study investigated whether liver stiffening occurs early in MASLD and how extracellular matrix (ECM) mechanics interact with lipid droplet (LD) overload to promote inflammation, fibrogenesis, and lipid dysmetabolism. Clinical data, mouse models, and in vitro experiments are integrated. Liver stiffness shifted modestly with steatosis but increased substantially in the presence of inflammation. In a diet-induced mouse model, liver stiffness increased before overt fibrosis. In cultured hepatocytes, stiff matrices combined with free fatty acid (FFA) induced steatosis synergistically amplified pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic signals, accompanied by cytoskeletal remodeling and nuclear deformation. YAP acted as a central mechanosensitive amplifier: stiffness drove YAP nuclear localization, and YAP knockdown blunted cytokine induction and fibrogenic gene expression under stiff + FFA conditions. Stiffness and LD overload jointly promoted lipogenesis and impaired lipophagy via YAP. Piezo1 is upregulated by stiff + FFA; its inhibition reduced Ca

Indexed as

Adaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingFatty LiverInflammationIon ChannelsLiverLiver CirrhosisMechanotransduction, CellularAnimalsDisease Models, AnimalHepatocytesHumansLipid MetabolismMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLTranscription FactorsAdaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingIon ChannelsPIEZO1 protein, humanPiezo1 protein, mouseTranscription FactorsYap1 protein, mouseYAP-Signaling Proteinslipid dropletsliver stiffnessmechanomedicinemetabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver diseasePiezo1YAP

Identifiers

PMID41486513
PMCPMC13045404

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.