Chief, Division of Gastroenterology

Department / Division:
Medicine / Gastroenterology

Address:
DUMC 3913
Durham, NC 27710

Appointment Telephone:
919-684-6437

Office Telephone:
919-684-3262

Fax Telephone:
919-684-8857

• MD, Georgetown University School of Medicine (Washington, DC), 1978

• Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins University (Maryland), 1978-1981

• Gastroenterology, Johns Hopkins University (Maryland), 1981-1984

Clinical Interests:
Liver disease, especially chronic metabolic liver diseases

Research Interests:
Our lab has a long standing interest in liver injury and repair.  To learn more about the mechanisms that regulate this process, we study cultured cells, animal models of acute and chronic liver damage and samples from patients with various types of liver disease. Our group also conducts clinical trials in patients with chronic liver disease.  We are particularly interested in fatty liver diseases, such as alcoholic fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Research by our group has advanced understanding in two main areas: 1) immune system regulation of liver injury and regeneration and 2)the role of fetal morphogens, such as the hedgehog pathway, in regulating fibrotic responses to liver damage. Our basic research programs have been enjoyed continuous NIH support since 1989.  We welcome students, post-doctoral fellows and visiting scientists who have interests in this research area to contact us about training opportunities and potential collaborations.  

Since 2001 we have also been an active participant in the NIDDK-funded Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network (NASH CRN), a national consortium comprised of 8 university medical centers selected to generate a national registry for patients with NAFLD and to conduct multicenter treatment trials for this disorder.  We are actively recruiting patients for this program, as well as a number of other industry-supported NAFLD studies.        

Representative Publications:
Yang L, Wang Y, Mao H, Fleig S, Omenetti A, Brown KD, Sicklick JK, Li YX, Diehl AM. Sonic hedgehog is an autocrine viability factor for myofibroblastic hepatic stellate cells. J Hepatol. 2008 Jan;48(1):98-106. (2008) Abstract

Yang L, Jung Y, Omenetti A, Witek RP, Choi S, Vandongen HM, Huang J, Alpini GD, Diehl AM. Fate-mapping evidence that hepatic stellate cells are epithelial progenitors in adult mouse livers. Stem Cells. 2008 Aug;26(8):2104-13. (2008) Abstract

Yamaguchi K, Yang L, McCall S, Huang J, Yu XX, Pandey SK, Bhanot S, Monia BP, Li YX, Diehl AM. Diacylglycerol acyltranferase 1 anti-sense oligonucleotides reduce hepatic fibrosis in mice with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Hepatology. 2008 Feb;47(2):625-35. (2008) Abstract

Solga SF, Horska A, Hemker S, Crawford S, Diggs C, Diehl AM, Brancati FL, Clark JM. Hepatic fat and adenosine triphosphate measurement in overweight and obese adults using 1H and 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Liver Int. 2008 May;28(5):675-81. (2008) Abstract

Ouyang X, Cirillo P, Sautin Y, McCall S, Bruchette JL, Diehl AM, Johnson RJ, Abdelmalek MF. Fructose consumption as a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. J Hepatol. 2008 Jun;48(6):993-9. (2008) Abstract

Omenetti A, Popov Y, Jung Y, Choi SS, Witek RP, Yang L, Brown KD, Schuppan D, Diehl AM. The Hedgehog Pathway Regulates Remodeling Responses to Biliary Obstruction in Rats. Gut. 2008 Mar 28. (2008) Abstract

Omenetti A, Diehl AM. The adventures of sonic hedgehog in development and repair. II. Sonic hedgehog and liver development, inflammation, and cancer. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2008 Mar;294(3):G595-8. (2008) Abstract

Jung Y, Brown KD, Witek RP, Omenetti A, Yang L, Vandongen M, Milton RJ, Hines IN, Rippe RA, Spahr L, Rubbia-Brandt L, Diehl AM. Accumulation of hedgehog-responsive progenitors parallels alcoholic liver disease severity in mice and humans. Gastroenterology. 2008 May;134(5):1532-43. (2008) Abstract

Yamaguchi K, Yang L, McCall S, Huang J, Yu XX, Pandey SK, Bhanot S, Monia BP, Li YX, Diehl AM. Inhibiting triglyceride synthesis improves hepatic steatosis but exacerbates liver damage and fibrosis in obese mice with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Hepatology. 2007 Jun;45(6):1366-74. (2007) Abstract

Yamaguchi K, Yang L, McCall S, Huang J, Yu XX, Pandey SK, Bhanot S, Monia BP, Li YX, Diehl AM. Inhibiting triglyceride synthesis improves hepatic steatosis but exacerbates liver damage and fibrosis in obese mice with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Hepatology. 2007 Jun;45(6):1366-74. (2007) Abstract

Li YX, Yang HT, Zdanowicz M, Sicklick JK, Qi Y, Camp TJ, Diehl AM. Fetal alcohol exposure impairs Hedgehog cholesterol modification and signaling. Lab Invest. 2007 Mar;87(3):231-40. (2007) Abstract

Jung Y, McCall SJ, Li YX, Diehl AM. Bile ductules and stromal cells express hedgehog ligands and/or hedgehog target genes in primary biliary cirrhosis. Hepatology. 2007 May;45(5):1091-6. (2007) Abstract

Fleig SV, Choi SS, Yang L, Jung Y, Omenetti A, VanDongen HM, Huang J, Sicklick JK, Diehl AM. Hepatic accumulation of Hedgehog-reactive progenitors increases with severity of fatty liver damage in mice. Lab Invest. 2007 Dec;87(12):1227-39. (2007) Abstract

Abdelmalek MF, Diehl AM. De Novo nonalcoholic fatty liver disease after liver transplantation. Liver Transpl. 2007 Jun;13(6):788-90. (2007) Abstract

Zhao C, Chen W, Yang L, Chen L, Stimpson SA, Diehl AM. PPARgamma agonists prevent TGFbeta1/Smad3-signaling in human hepatic stellate cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2006 Nov 17;350(2):385-91. (2006) Abstract

Sicklick JK, Choi SS, Bustamante M, McCall SJ, Pérez EH, Huang J, Li YX, Rojkind M, Diehl AM. Evidence for epithelial-mesenchymal transitions in adult liver cells. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2006 Oct;291(4):G575-83. (2006) Abstract

Setji TL, Holland ND, Sanders LL, Pereira KC, Diehl AM, Brown AJ. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and nonalcoholic Fatty liver disease in young women with polycystic ovary syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006 May;91(5):1741-7. (2006) Abstract