Pectin alleviates alcohol-associated liver disease partly through cell-type-specific aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling in female mice
Abstract
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) plays a critical role in alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD). Pectin improves ALD partially through the AhR pathway. However, AhR is expressed across different organs and cell types, and the specific cellular targets mediating AhR’s effects in ALD remain unclear. We generated conditional AhR knockout mice in intestinal epithelial cells, hepatocytes, dendritic cells, and Rorγt-positive cells, in which AhR may play a critical role in regulating the gut-liver axis and pectin protection against ALD. ALD was induced using the Lieber-DeCarli model, and mice received pectin supplementation. AhR deficiency in intestinal epithelial cells and hepatocytes in mice leads to increased hepatic inflammation and serum ALT following alcohol administration compared with their littermate controls. However, pectin exerted strong protective effects against ALD in all the models. Our results suggest that AhR activation across multiple cell types, rather than a single cell type, mediates the protective role of pectin.
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BibTeX
@article{hu2026pectin,
title = {{Pectin alleviates alcohol-associated liver disease partly through cell-type-specific aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling in female mice}},
author = {Wanchao Hu and Geraldine Schlecht-Louf and Camille Vielhescaze and Nicolas Trainel and Solène Jouvanceau and Aurore Desmons and Françoise Mercier-Nomé and Sophie Viel and Aboubacar Sidiki K Coulibaly and Clara Perrin and Charlotte Canet-Jourdan and Ana-Maria Lennon-Duménil and Gerard Eberl and Gabriel Perlemuter and Dragos Ciocan and Anne-Marie Cassard},
journal = {Cell Reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.celrep.2026.118085},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05826937v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pectin alleviates alcohol-associated liver disease partly through cell-type-specific aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling in female mice
AU - Wanchao Hu
AU - Geraldine Schlecht-Louf
AU - Camille Vielhescaze
AU - Nicolas Trainel
AU - Solène Jouvanceau
AU - Aurore Desmons
AU - Françoise Mercier-Nomé
AU - Sophie Viel
AU - Aboubacar Sidiki K Coulibaly
AU - Clara Perrin
AU - Charlotte Canet-Jourdan
AU - Ana-Maria Lennon-Duménil
AU - Gerard Eberl
AU - Gabriel Perlemuter
AU - Dragos Ciocan
AU - Anne-Marie Cassard
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Cell Reports
DO - 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.118085
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05826937v1
AB - The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) plays a critical role in alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD). Pectin improves ALD partially through the AhR pathway. However, AhR is expressed across different organs and cell types, and the specific cellular targets mediating AhR’s effects in ALD remain unclear. We generated conditional AhR knockout mice in intestinal epithelial cells, hepatocytes, dendritic cells, and Rorγt-positive cells, in which AhR may play a critical role in regulating the gut-liver axis and pectin protection against ALD. ALD was induced using the Lieber-DeCarli model, and mice received pectin supplementation. AhR deficiency in intestinal epithelial cells and hepatocytes in mice leads to increased hepatic inflammation and serum ALT following alcohol administration compared with their littermate controls. However, pectin exerted strong protective effects against ALD in all the models. Our results suggest that AhR activation across multiple cell types, rather than a single cell type, mediates the protective role of pectin.
SN - 2211-1247
SN - 2211-1247
ER -