Proteomic analysis of mouse liver with conditional knock-out of Cathepsin D in macrophages

The cell-specific role of lysosomal protease cathepsin D (CtsD) in liver fibrosis is not completely clear. This study reports that while CtsD is highly expressed in liver macrophages of cirrhotic patients, CtsD deletion in macrophages resulted in enhanced liver fibrosis. For this scope, a macrophage-CtsD knock-out mouse (CtsDMac) model was generated. Livers obtained from the mouse model and from its control were analyzed by shotgun label-free quantitative (LFQ) proteomics.