Yes-associated protein (YAP), as a co-activator of transcription factors, is a downstream protein in the Hippo signaling pathway with important functions in cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration. YAP also plays a key role in the development of CCl4-induced liver fibrosis. However, the mechanism of YAP during hepatic fibrosis progression and reversion is still unclear. Mild liver fibrosis was developed after 4 months of high-fat diet (HFD) stimulation, and we found that the YAP signaling pathway was activated. Here, we aim to reveal whether specific knockout of Yap gene in the liver can improve liver fibrosis induced by insulin resistance (IR) stimulated by HFD, and further explain its specific mechanism. We found that liver-specific Yap gene knockout improved IR-induced liver fibrosis and liver dysfunction, and this mechanism is related to the inhibition of the insulin signal pathway at the FoxO1 level. These findings provide a new insight, and Yap is expected to be a new target to reverse the early stage of liver fibrosis induced by IR.
Keywords: FoxO1; YAP; insulin resistance; liver fibrosis.