Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2011 Sep 7;17(33):3776-84.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i33.3776.

Spleen: A new role for an old player?

Giovanni Tarantino  1 , Silvia Savastano, Domenico Capone, Annamaria Colao
Affiliations
Review

Spleen: A new role for an old player?

Giovanni Tarantino et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

The spleen could be considered a neglected organ. To date, it has been deemed an ancillary organ in portal hypertension or an organ localization in lymphoproliferative diseases, even though it has had significant attention in infectious diseases for some time. Now, it is thought to be central in regulating the immune system, a metabolic asset and involved in endocrine function with regard to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The main mechanisms involved in this complex network will be critically discussed in this article.

Keywords: Endocrine function; Immune system; Metabolic asset; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Spleen.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Lucas CE. Splenic trauma. Choice of management. Ann Surg. 1991;213:98–112. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tarantino G, Saldalamacchia G, Conca P, Arena A. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: further expression of the metabolic syndrome. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2007;22:293–303. - PubMed
    1. Swirski FK, Nahrendorf M, Etzrodt M, Wildgruber M, Cortez-Retamozo V, Panizzi P, Figueiredo JL, Kohler RH, Chudnovskiy A, Waterman P, et al. Identification of splenic reservoir monocytes and their deployment to inflammatory sites. Science. 2009;325:612–616. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhang S, Li ZF, Pan D, Huang C, Zhou R, Liu ZW. Changes of splenic macrophage during the process of liver cancer induced by diethylnitrosamine in rats. Chin Med J (Engl) 2009;122:3043–3047. - PubMed
    1. Alatery A, Siddiqui S, Chan M, Kus A, Petrof EO, Basta S. Cross, but not direct, presentation of cell-associated virus antigens by spleen macrophages is influenced by their differentiation state. Immunol Cell Biol. 2010;88:3–12. - PubMed