Fig. 4
From: Extracellular vesicles: mediators of intercellular communication in tissue injury and disease
Overview of EV-mediated communication in liver diseases. In drug-induced liver damage, EV communication between hepatocytes and macrophages induces an inflammatory and fibrotic state. Furthermore, accumulation of fat in the liver, which is often associated with obesity, leads to communication between hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells that promotes progression of fatty liver to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Within adipose tissue of obese individuals, adipocytes communicate with macrophages to polarize them into an M2 phenotype and create an inflammatory environment that leads to insulin resistance