激活素A是一种具有广泛生物学作用的细胞因子,在肝脏其作用主要表现为抑制细胞增殖、诱导细胞凋亡、促进细胞外基质合成分泌、抑制肿瘤细胞增殖及转移。研究发现急、慢性肝炎、肝纤维化、肝硬化、肝癌及肝功能衰竭等疾病发生发展中均有激活素A表达异常,提示激活素A信号异常可能参与了这些肝脏疾病的发生发展过程。 Activin A is a cytokine with a wide range of biological effects. Its function in the liver is mainly to inhibit cell proliferation, induce apoptosis, promote the synthesis and secretion of extracellular matrix, and inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells. The study found that acute and chronic hepatitis, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure and other diseases are the occurrence and development of activin A expression abnormalities, suggesting that activin A signal abnormalities may be involved in the development of these liver diseases.