The role of Cebpb in Alcohol-associated Liver Disease development and resolution

Abstinence is an important therapeutic intervention for patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD). However, fibrosis improvement after cessation is not uniform and some patients do not improve. We aimed to use scATAC-seq analysis in a mouse model of ALD to define the mechanism of poor ALD resolution. We analyzed differentially accessible regions in livers from control, ALD, or 4 weeks post alcohol cessation mice and identified transcription factors activated in ALD that remained activated after alcohol withdrawal. The top hit was C/EBPβ. We found that hepatocyte specific Cebpb knockout prevented ALD development, while knockout at the time of alcohol cessation promoted fibrosis resolution. Whole liver mRNA analysis in alcohol fed (WDA - western diet with alcohol in the drinking water) Cebpb floxed mice treated with AAV-Cre vectors