Cell Death Issue for Researchers and Clinicians

Abstract

Hepatocyte cell death is a central mechanism involved in liver injury and is present in almost all types of human liver diseases. Indeed, excessive cell death has been identified as a central mechanism of liver damage in conditions such as acute and chronic viral hepatitis, alcoholic and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH and NASH), and drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Different mechanisms of cell death such as apoptosis, necrosis, necroptosis and autophagy, which may vary substantially amongst liver diseases, can trigger specific cell death responses and promote disease progression. In this chapter, we first describe the molecular mechanisms of different forms of liver cell death and then we discuss how cell death contributes to the development of liver disease.