Hepatic stellate cells down-regulate pro-apoptotic effector abundance and secretion in mast cells

Background: Fibrosis and its resolution depend on hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and apoptosis [1]. Mast cells (MCs) are recruited to the liver during fibrosis and they do express potent pro-apoptotic proteins granzyme B (gzmB) and cleaved caspase 3 which are both functionally linked [2, 3].