Lrat-Cre Exhibits Widespread Expression Beyond Hepatic Stellate Cells Across Multiple Tissues

Abstract

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a central role in liver fibrosis, shifting from quiescent vitamin A-storing cells to activated, myofibroblast-like cells that secrete collagen and other profibrotic factors1. HSCs have thus become a major focus in liver fibrosis research, and several Cre driver lines have been created to target HSCs in mice. However, early Cre lines had significant limitations. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (Gfap)-Cre labels only a subset of HSCs and also induces recombination in cholangiocytes2. Collagen type I alpha 1 (Col1a1)-Cre and alpha-smooth muscle actin (αSMA)-Cre/CreERT2 primarily label activated myofibroblasts and broadly mark portal fibroblasts and vascular smooth muscle cells3,4. Platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (Pdgfrβ)-Cre reliably labels HSCs but also recombines pericytes and smooth muscle cells, limiting its specificity5. The introduction of lecithin-retinol acyltransferase (Lrat)-Cre marked a major advance, offering highly specific labeling of quiescent and activated HSCs and rapidly becoming the most widely used driver for HSC tracing and genetic perturbation2. However, the extrahepatic expression of Lrat-Cre remains incompletely understood. This is a critical limitation, given that liver biology is closely coordinated with other organs to maintain systemic metabolism. Addressing these gaps is essential for the accurate interpretation of HSC-specific genetic models in liver biology.