Role of adipocyte-derived extracellular vesicles during the progression of liver inflammation to hepatocellular carcinoma

Extracellular vesicles are membrane-bound cargos that vary in size and are stably transported through various bodily fluids. Extracellular vesicles communicate information between the cells and organs. Extracellular vesicles from the diseased cells alter cellular responses of the recipient cells contributing to disease progression. In obesity, adipocytes become hypertrophic and the extracellular vesicles from these dysfunctional adipocytes showed altered cargo contents instigating pathophysiological response leading to chronic liver diseases. In this review, the role of adipocyte-derived extracellular vesicles on the progression of liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma are extensively discussed. Newer approaches are crucial to take advantage of extracellular vesicles and their content as biomarkers to diagnose initial liver inflammation before reaching to an irreversible liver failure stage.

Automated summary

Extracellular vesicles, membrane-bound cargos of varying size, play a vital role in transmitting information between cells and organs. In obesity, dysfunctional adipocytes release extracellular vesicles with altered cargo contents, contributing to the progression of chronic liver diseases. This review extensively discusses the impact of adipocyte-derived extracellular vesicles on liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, highlighting the need for newer approaches to utilize these vesicles as biomarkers for diagnosing initial liver inflammation before it becomes irreversible.