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Relationship: 1763

Title

A descriptive phrase which clearly defines the two KEs being considered and the sequential relationship between them (i.e., which is upstream, and which is downstream). More help

Tissue resident cell activation leads to Increased pro-inflammatory mediators

Upstream event

The causing Key Event (KE) in a Key Event Relationship (KER). More help

Tissue resident cell activation

Downstream event

The responding Key Event (KE) in a Key Event Relationship (KER). More help

Increased pro-inflammatory mediators

Key Event Relationship Overview

The utility of AOPs for regulatory application is defined, to a large extent, by the confidence and precision with which they facilitate extrapolation of data measured at low levels of biological organisation to predicted outcomes at higher levels of organisation and the extent to which they can link biological effect measurements to their specific causes.Within the AOP framework, the predictive relationships that facilitate extrapolation are represented by the KERs. Consequently, the overall WoE for an AOP is a reflection in part, of the level of confidence in the underlying series of KERs it encompasses. Therefore, describing the KERs in an AOP involves assembling and organising the types of information and evidence that defines the scientific basis for inferring the probable change in, or state of, a downstream KE from the known or measured state of an upstream KE. More help

AOPs Referencing Relationship

AOP Name	Adjacency	Weight of Evidence	Quantitative Understanding	Point of Contact	Author Status	OECD Status
Protein Alkylation leading to Liver Fibrosis	adjacent	High		Brigitte Landesmann (send email)	Open for citation & comment	WPHA/WNT Endorsed
Increased DNA damage leading to increased risk of breast cancer	adjacent	Moderate	Not Specified	Jessica Helm (send email)	Under development: Not open for comment. Do not cite	Under Development
Increased reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) leading to increased risk of breast cancer	adjacent	Moderate	Not Specified	Jessica Helm (send email)	Under development: Not open for comment. Do not cite	Under Development

Taxonomic Applicability

Latin or common names of a species or broader taxonomic grouping (e.g., class, order, family) that help to define the biological applicability domain of the KER.In general, this will be dictated by the more restrictive of the two KEs being linked together by the KER. More help

Term	Scientific Term	Evidence	Link
human	Homo sapiens	High	NCBI
rat	Rattus norvegicus	High	NCBI

Sex Applicability

An indication of the the relevant sex for this KER. More help

Sex	Evidence
Unspecific	High

Life Stage Applicability

An indication of the the relevant life stage(s) for this KER. More help

Term	Evidence
All life stages	High

Key Event Relationship Description

Provides a concise overview of the information given below as well as addressing details that aren’t inherent in the description of the KEs themselves. More help

LIVER:

Following activation the liver resident macrophages, Kupffer cells (KCs), become a major source for inflammatory mediators including cytokines, chemokines, lysosomal, and proteolytic enzymes and for reactive oxygen species (ROS) and also the main source for TGF-β1, the most potent profibrogenic cytokine. [Luckey and Petersen 2001; Winwood and Arthur 1993]

Expressed TNF-α (Tumor Necrosis Factor -alpha), TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand), and FasL (Fas Ligand) are pro-inflammatory active and also capable of inducing death receptor-mediated apoptosis in hepatocytes.

Activated KCs are an important source of ROS like superoxide (generated by NADPH oxidase (NOX). KCs express TNF-α, IL-1 (Interleukin-1) and MCP-1 (monocyte-chemoattractant protein-1), all being mitogens and chemoattractants for HSCs and induce the expression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors on hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) which further enhances HSCs proliferation. [Kamimura and Tsukamoto, 1995; Li et al.,2008; Kolios et al., 2006; Bataller and Brenner, 2005; Lee and Friedman,2011; Brenner,2009, Fujiwara and Kobayashi, 2005; Kirkham, 2007; Reuter et al., 2010

Evidence Collection Strategy

Include a description of the approach for identification and assembly of the evidence base for the KER. For evidence identification, include, for example, a description of the sources and dates of information consulted including expert knowledge, databases searched and associated search terms/strings. Include also a description of study screening criteria and methodology, study quality assessment considerations, the data extraction strategy and links to any repositories/databases of relevant references.Tabular summaries and links to relevant supporting documentation are encouraged, wherever possible. More help

Evidence Supporting this KER

Addresses the scientific evidence supporting KERs in an AOP setting the stage for overall assessment of the AOP. More help

Biological Plausibility

Addresses the biological rationale for a connection between KEupstream and KEdownstream. This field can also incorporate additional mechanistic details that help inform the relationship between KEs, this is useful when it is not practical/pragmatic to represent these details as separate KEs due to the difficulty or relative infrequency with which it is likely to be measured. More help

LIVER:

The functional relationship between these KEs is consistent with biological knowledge. [Kamimura and Tsukamoto, 1995; Li et al.,2008; Kolios et al., 2006; Bataller and Brenner, 2005; Lee and Friedman,2011; Guo and Friedman, 2007; Brenner,2009, Fujiwara and Kobayashi, 2005; Kirkham, 2007; Reuter et al., 2010]

Empirical Evidence

Provides specific (citable) evidence that supports the idea of a change in the upstream KE (KEupstream) leading to, or being associated with, a subsequent change in the downstream KE (KEdownstream), assuming the perturbation of KEupstream is sufficient. More help

LIVER:

Cytokine release is one of the features that define KC activation and there is sound empirical evidence for this KER. Experimental studies have shown enhanced cytokine gene expression by KCs in evolution of experimental liver injury. Northern blot analysis of freshly isolated KCs showed enhanced mRNA expression of three acute phase cytokines by the hepatic resident macrophages, TNF-α, IL-6 and TGF-β. [Kamimura and Tsukamoto, 1995; De Bleser et al., 1997; Chu et al., 2013]

Experiments by Matsuoka and Tsukamoto already 1990 showed that KCs isolated from rat liver with alcoholic fibrosis express and release TGF-β1 and that this cytokine is largely responsible for the KC-conditioned medium-induced stimulation of collagen formation by HSCs. [Matsuoka and Tsukamoto, 1990]

Uncertainties and Inconsistencies

Addresses inconsistencies or uncertainties in the relationship including the identification of experimental details that may explain apparent deviations from the expected patterns of concordance. More help

Known modulating factors

This table captures specific information on the MF, its properties, how it affects the KER and respective references.1.) What is the modulating factor? Name the factor for which solid evidence exists that it influences this KER. Examples: age, sex, genotype, diet 2.) Details of this modulating factor. Specify which features of this MF are relevant for this KER. Examples: a specific age range or a specific biological age (defined by...); a specific gene mutation or variant, a specific nutrient (deficit or surplus); a sex-specific homone; a certain threshold value (e.g. serum levels of a chemical above...) 3.) Description of how this modulating factor affects this KER. Describe the provable modification of the KER (also quantitatively, if known). Examples: increase or decrease of the magnitude of effect (by a factor of...); change of the time-course of the effect (onset delay by...); alteration of the probability of the effect; increase or decrease of the sensitivity of the downstream effect (by a factor of...) 4.) Provision of supporting scientific evidence for an effect of this MF on this KER. Give a list of references. More help

Quantitative Understanding of the Linkage

Captures information that helps to define how much change in the upstream KE, and/or for how long, is needed to elicit a detectable and defined change in the downstream KE. More help

Response-response Relationship

Provides sources of data that define the response-response relationships between the KEs. More help

Time-scale

Information regarding the approximate time-scale of the changes in KEdownstream relative to changes in KEupstream (i.e., do effects on KEdownstream lag those on KEupstream by seconds, minutes, hours, or days?). More help

Known Feedforward/Feedback loops influencing this KER

Define whether there are known positive or negative feedback mechanisms involved and what is understood about their time-course and homeostatic limits. More help

Domain of Applicability

A free-text section of the KER description that the developers can use to explain their rationale for the taxonomic, life stage, or sex applicability structured terms. More help

LIVER:

Human [Bataller and Brenner, 2005; Kolios et al., 2006]

Rat [De Bleser et al., 1997]

References

List of the literature that was cited for this KER description. More help

LIVER:

Bataller, R. and D.A. Brenner (2005), Liver Fibrosis, J.Clin. Invest, vol. 115, no. 2, pp. 209-218.
Brenner, D.A. (2009), Molecular Pathogenesis of Liver Fibrosis, Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc, vol. 120, pp. 361–368.
Chu, P.S. et al. (2013), C-C motif chemokine receptor 9 positive macrophages activate hepatic stellate cells and promote liver fibrosis in mice, Hepatology, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 337-350.
De Bleser, P.J. et al. (1997), Transforming growth factor-beta gene expression in normal and fibrotic rat liver, J Hepatol, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 886-893.
Fujiwara, N. and K. Kobayashi (2005), Macrophages in inflammation, Curr Drug Targets Inflamm Allergy, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 281-286.
Guo, J. and S. L. Friedman (2007), Hepatic fibrogenesis, Semin Liver Dis, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 413-426.
Kamimura, S. and H. Tsukamoto (1995), Cytokine gene expression by Kupffer cells in experimental alcoholic liver disease, Hepatology, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 1304-1309.
Kirkham, P. (2007), Oxidative stress and macrophage function: a failure to resolve the inflammatory response, Biochem Soc Trans, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 284-287.
Kolios, G., V. Valatas and E. Kouroumalis (2006), Role of Kupffer cells in the pathogenesis of liver disease, World J.Gastroenterol, vol. 12, no. 46, pp. 7413-7420.
Lee, U.E. and S.L. Friedman (2011), Mechanisms of Hepatic Fibrogenesis, Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 195-206.
Li, Jing-Ting et al. (2008), Molecular mechanism of hepatic stellate cell activation and antifibrotic therapeutic strategies, J Gastroenterol, vol. 43, no. 6, pp. 419–428.
Luckey, S.W., and D.R. Petersen (2001), Activation of Kupffer cells during the course of carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury and fibrosis in rats, Exp Mol Pathol, vol. 71, no. 3, pp. 226-240
Matsuoka, M. and H. Tsukamoto, (1990), Stimulation of hepatic lipocyte collagen production by Kupffer cell-derived transforming growth factor beta: implication for a pathogenetic role in alcoholic liver fibrogenesis, Hepatology, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 599-605.
Reuter, S. et al. (2010), Oxidative stress, inflammation, and cancer: how are they linked? Free Radic Biol Med, vol. 49, no. 11, pp. 1603-1616.
Winwood, P.J., and M.J. Arthur (1993), Kupffer cells: their activation and role in animal models of liver injury and human liver disease, Semin Liver Dis, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 50-59.