1. Younossi, Z. M. et al. Global epidemiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease—meta-analytic assessment of prevalence, incidence, and outcomes. Hepatology 64, 73–84 (2016).
2. Yu, J., Shen, J., Sun, T. T., Zhang, X. & Wong, N. Obesity, insulin resistance, NASH and hepatocellular carcinoma. Semin. Cancer Biol. 23, 483–491 (2013).
3. Tateishi, R. et al. A nationwide survey on non-B, non-C hepatocellular carcinoma in Japan: 2011–2015 update. J. Gastroenterol. 54, 367–376 (2019).
4. Nagaishi, K., Ataka, K., Echizen, E., Arimura, Y. & Fujimiya, M. Mesenchymal stem cell therapy ameliorates diabetic hepatocyte damage in mice by inhibiting infiltration of bone marrow-derived cells. Hepatology 59, 1816–1829 (2014).
5. Watanabe, T. et al. Development of a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis model with rapid accumulation of fibrosis, and its treatment using mesenchymal stem cells and their small extracellular vesicles. Regen. Ther. 14, 252–261 (2020).
6. Ranganath, S. H., Levy, O., Inamdar, M. S. & Karp, J. M. Harnessing the mesenchymal stem cell secretome for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Cell Stem Cell 10, 244–258 (2012).
7. Miura, M. et al. SHED: Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 100, 5807–5812 (2003).
8. Matsushita, Y. et al. Multifaceted therapeutic benefits of factors derived from stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth for acute liver failure in rats. J. Tissue Eng. Regen. Med. 11, 1888–1896 (2017).
9. Hirata, M. et al. Multifaceted therapeutic benefits of factors derived from dental pulp stem cells for mouse liver fibrosis. Stem Cells Transl. Med. 5, 1416–1424 (2016).
10. Marra, F. & Svegliati-Baroni, G. Lipotoxicity and the gut-liver axis in NASH pathogenesis. J. Hepatol. 68, 280–295 (2018).
11. Albillos, A., de Gottardi, A. & Rescigno, M. The gut-liver axis in liver disease: Pathophysiological basis for therapy. J. Hepatol. 72, 558–577 (2020).
12. Mouries, J. et al. Microbiota-driven gut vascular barrier disruption is a prerequisite for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis development. J. Hepatol. 71, 1216–1228 (2019).
13. Tsuchida, T. et al. A simple diet- and chemical-induced murine NASH model with rapid progression of steatohepatitis, fibrosis and liver cancer. J. Hepatol. 69, 385–395 (2018).
14. Sakai, K. et al. Human dental pulp-derived stem cells promote locomotor recovery after complete transection of the rat spinal cord by multiple neuro-regenerative mechanisms. J. Clin. Invest. 122, 80–90 (2012).
15. Zhao, H. et al. Protective role of 1,25(OH)2vitamin D3 in the mucosal injury and epithelial barrier disruption in DSS-induced acute colitis in mice. BMC Gastroenterol. 12, 57 (2012).
16. Kleiner, D. E. et al. Design and validation of a histological scoring system for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Hepatology 41, 1313–1321 (2005).
17. Bligh, E. G. & Dyer, W. J. A rapid method of total lipid extraction and purification. Can. J. Biochem. Physiol. 37, 911–917 (1959).
18. Anderson, P. et al. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells induce immunomodulatory macrophages which protect from experimental colitis and sepsis. Gut 62, 1131–1141 (2013).
19. Francoeur, C., Escaffit, F., Vachon, P. H. & Beaulieu, J.-F. Proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IFN-γ alter laminin expression under an apoptosis-independent mechanism in human intestinal epithelial cells. Am. J. Physiol. Liver Physiol. 287, G592–G598 (2004).
20. Grbic, D. M., Degagné, É., Langlois, C., Dupuis, A.-A. & Gendron, F.-P. Intestinal Inflammation Increases the Expression of the P2Y 6 Receptor on Epithelial Cells and the Release of CXC Chemokine Ligand 8 by UDP. J. Immunol. 180, 2659–2668 (2008).
21. Chen, S. W. et al. Protective effect of hydrogen sulfide on TNF-α and IFN-γ-induced injury of intestinal epithelial barrier function in Caco-2 monolayers. Inflamm. Res. 64, 789–797 (2015).
22. Yamamoto, K. et al. Influence of proton pump inhibitors on microbiota in chronic liver disease patients. Hepatol. Int. 13, 234–244 (2019).
23. DeSantis, T. Z. et al. Greengenes, a chimera-checked 16S rRNA gene database and workbench compatible with ARB. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72, 5069–5072 (2006).
24. Tsuchiya, A. et al. Mesenchymal stem cell therapies for liver cirrhosis: MSCs as ‘conducting cells’ for improvement of liver fibrosis and regeneration. Inflamm. Regen. 39, 18 (2019).
25. Dekker, M. J., Su, Q., Baker, C., Rutledge, A. C. & Adeli, K. Fructose: A highly lipogenic nutrient implicated in insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, and the metabolic syndrome. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 299, 685–694 (2010).
26. Chassaing, B., Etienne-Mesmin, L. & Gewirtz, A. T. Microbiota-liver axis in hepatic disease. Hepatology 59, 328–339 (2014).
27. De Minicis, S. et al. Gene expression profiles during hepatic stellate cell activation in culture and in vivo. Gastroenterology 132, 1937–1946 (2007).
28. Fanning, A. S., Jameson, B. J., Jesaitis, L. A. & Anderson, J. M. The tight junction protein ZO-1 establishes a link between the transmembrane protein occludin and the actin cytoskeleton. J. Biol. Chem. 273, 29745–29753 (1998).
29. Chen, D., Le, T. H., Shahidipour, H., Read, S. A. & Ahlenstiel, G. The Role of Gut-Derived Microbial Antigens on Liver Fibrosis Initiation and Progression. Cells 8, 1324 (2019).
30. Rivera, C. A. et al. Toll-like receptor-4 signaling and Kupffer cells play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic steato- hepatitis. J. Hepatol. 47, 571–579 (2007).
31. Morinaga, H. et al. Characterization of distinct subpopulations of hepatic macrophages in HFD/obese mice. Diabetes 64, 1120–1130 (2015).
32. Mita, T. et al. Conditioned medium from the stem cells of human dental pulp improves cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Behav. Brain Res. 293, 189–197 (2015).
33. Hu, B. & Colletti, L. M. Stem cell factor and c-kit are involved in hepatic recovery after acetaminophen-induced liver injury in mice. Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 295, G45 (2008).
34. Matsubara, K. et al. Secreted ectodomain of sialic acid-binding Ig-like lectin-9 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 promote recovery after rat spinal cord injury by altering macrophage polarity. J. Neurosci. 35, 2452–2464 (2015).
35. Drescher, H. K. et al. Platelet factor 4 attenuates experimental acute liver injury in Mice. Front. Physiol. 10, (2019).
36. Li, M., Song, K., Huang, X., Fu, S. & Zeng, Q. GDF-15 prevents LPS and D-galactosamine-induced inflammation and acute liver injury in mice. Int. J. Mol. Med. 42, 1756–1764 (2018).
37. Ando, Y. et al. Subcutaneous adipose tissue-derived stem cells facilitate colonic mucosal recovery from 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis in rats. Inflamm. Bowel Dis. 14, 826–838 (2008).
38. Wang, Y. et al. SCF/C-Kit/JNK/AP-1 signaling pathway promotes claudin-3 expression in colonic epithelium and colorectal car- cinoma. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 18, (2017).
39. Kang, E. A. et al. Soluble Siglec-9 alleviates intestinal inflammation through inhibition of the NF-κB pathway. Int. Immunophar- macol. 86, 106695 (2020).
40. Matos, A. M. et al. Prolonged co-treatment with HGF sustains epithelial integrity and improves pharmacological rescue of Phe508del-CFTR. Sci. Rep. 8, 13026 (2018).
41. Shimojima, C. et al. Conditioned medium from the stem cells of human exfoliated deciduous teeth ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. J. Immunol. 196, 4164–4171 (2016).
42. Kano, F., Matsubara, K., Ueda, M., Hibi, H. & Yamamoto, A. Secreted ectodomain of sialic acid-binding ig-like lectin-9 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 synergistically regenerate transected rat peripheral nerves by altering macrophage polarity. Stem Cells 35, 641–653 (2017).
43. Ito, T. et al. Secreted ectodomain of SIGLEC-9 and MCP-1 synergistically improve acute liver failure in rats by altering macrophage polarity. Sci. Rep. 7, 44043 (2017).
44. Haukeland, J. W. et al. Systemic inflammation in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is characterized by elevated levels of CCL2. J. Hepatol. 44, 1167–1174 (2006).
45. Angulo, P. et al. Liver fibrosis, but no other histologic features, is associated with long-term outcomes of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Gastroenterology 149, 389-397.e10 (2015).
46. Vilar-Gomez, E. et al. Fibrosis severity as a determinant of cause-specific mortality in patients with advanced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a multi-national cohort study. Gastroenterology 155, 443-457.e17 (2018).