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Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi 2019 Mar;99(10):767-770

Liver Transplantation Center, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, China.

To explore the indications and safety of orthopedic liver transplantation for polycystic liver disease (PLD). Data of 11 patients with PLD who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation between 2004 and 2013 was retrospectively analyzed. Demographic, clinical and follow-up data were collected for statistical analysis. Read More

Zhonghua Lao Dong Wei Sheng Zhi Ye Bing Za Zhi 2019 Jan;37(1):63-65

Shandong Provincial Hospital of Occupational Disease, Jinan 250062, China.

Occupational acute carbon tetrachloride poisoning occurs when a worker is exposed to highly condensed carbon tetrachloride in a short time and suffers from diseases damaging mainly his neutral system and (or) liver and kidney. This article reports a case of what clinical symptoms MODS patients show and how to diagnose, differential diagnosis and therapy process. Read More

J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University.

Background And Aim: Bioartificial livers (BALs) are considered as a solution to bridge patients with acute liver failure to liver transplantation or to assist in spontaneous recovery for patients with end-stage liver disease. Pig is the best donor of hepatocytes for BALs in clinical trials, because metabolic and detoxification function of its liver are close to human. However, using pig hepatocytes for BALs remains controversial for safety concern owing to nonhuman proteins secretion. Read More

J Innate Immun 2019 Mar 18:1-12. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

To investigate the role of fatty acid-binding protein 5 (FABP5) in infectious diseases, FABP5-deficient mice were challenged with Listeria monocytogenes, a facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen. Interestingly, FABP5-deficient animals were able to clear the infection within 3 days whereas control wild-type (WT) animals showed comparatively higher bacterial burdens in the liver and spleen. Sections of infected tissues showed an increase in inflammatory foci in WT mice compared to FABP5-deficient mice. Read More

Bioresour Technol 2019 Mar 12;282:417-424. Epub 2019 Mar 12.

School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110 067, India. Electronic address:

The present study demonstrates EPS production by Cupriavidus sp. ISTL7 along with its capability to remediate a toxic carbamate pesticide, carbofuran. The strain ISTL7 efficiently degraded approximately 98% of carbofuran (400 ppm) within 96 h. Read More

Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 2019 Mar 8;68:109-119. Epub 2019 Mar 8.

Institute of Clinical Pharmacology of Anhui Medical University, Key Laboratory of Anti-inflammatory and Immune Medicine of Education Ministry, Anhui Collaborative Innovation Center of Anti-inflammatory and Immune Medicine, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, China. Electronic address:

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is an environmental pollutant that is widely used in medical and consumer products. An epidemiological study has suggested that a large daily intake of DEHP from phthalate-contaminated food may be a risk factor for liver dysfunction. Long-term exposure to DEHP is associated with liver disease and exacerbates the progression of chronic liver injury. Read More

J Mol Graph Model 2019 Mar 11;89:122-130. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

Structural and Computational Biology Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, 254 Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand; Ph.D. Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand. Electronic address:

Hepatitis C has become an important health problem that requires expensive treatment and leads to liver tumorigenesis. Hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is the main cause of hepatitis C, has a high mutation rate due to the lack of proofreading activity of the RNA polymerase enzyme. The NS3/4A serine protease is an important target for anti-HCV drug discovery and development because of its crucial role in the cleavage of the polypeptides involved in viral replication. Read More

J Surg Res 2019 Mar 15;239:269-277. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

Regenerative Bioscience Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. Electronic address:

Background: A novel injectable expanding foam based on hydrophobically modified chitosan (HM-CS) was developed to improve hemostasis during surgeries. HM-CS is an amphiphilic derivative of the natural biopolymer chitosan (CS); HM-CS has been shown to improve the natural hemostatic characteristics of CS, but its internal safety has not been systematically evaluated. The goal of this study was to compare the long-term in vivo safety of HM-CS relative to a commonly used fibrin sealant (FS), TISSEEL (Baxter). Read More

J Nutr Biochem 2019 Feb 19;67:111-122. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Department and Institute of Pharmacology, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei. Electronic address:

Estrogen deficiency in postmenopausal women is linked to the higher prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndromes. Development of beige adipocytes (browning of WAT) increases energy expenditure and could be a promising strategy for obesity management. This study aimed to investigate the effects of phytoestrogen genistein (GEN) on white adipose tissue (WAT) inflammation, browning and hepatic lipogenesis in ovariectomized rats with high-fat diet (HFD) and further explore the underlying mechanism. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2019 Mar 12;178:317-328. Epub 2019 Mar 12.

Arbuzov Institute of Organic and Physical Chemistry, FRC Kazan Scientific Center of Russian Academy of Sciences, Arbuzov St., 8, Kazan, 420088, Russian Federation.

Multi-targeted approaches for inhibition of сervical cancer cells in vitro were developed by implementing two different strategies and drug combination for creation of new therapeutic target agents and for nanotechnological-enhancement of intracellular delivery. New 2-benzimidazolylquinoxalines derivatives were synthesized and characterized by combining two different pharmacophores - benzimidazole and quinoxaline rings directly bonded in their structures. Spectrophotometric technique for determination of content of compounds in various media was developed to evaluate their solubility in water and micellar solutions of surfactants. Read More

J Pharm Biomed Anal 2019 Mar 9;169:279-287. Epub 2019 Mar 9.

Department of Pharmacy, Shanghai Baoshan Luodian Hospital, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:

Ebracteolatain A is a phloroglucinol derivative from the root of Euphorbia ebracteolata Hayata, a Traditional Chinese Medicine also known as Langdu. It has been shown to have good inhibitory effects in breast cancer cells. In this study, a simple, rapid, sensitive, and specific ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated to study the pharmacokinetics (PKs) and tissue distribution of Ebracteolatain A in rats. Read More

J Pharm Biomed Anal 2019 Mar 9;169:269-278. Epub 2019 Mar 9.

Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gabriela Narutowicza St. 11/12, Gdańsk, 80-233, Poland. Electronic address:

The metabolism of antitumor-active 5-diethylaminoethylamino-8-hydroxyimidazoacridinone (C-1311) has been investigated widely over the last decade but some aspects of molecular mechanisms of its metabolic transformation are still not explained. In the current work, we have reported a direct and rapid analytical tool for better prediction of C-1311 metabolism which is based on electrochemistry (EC) coupled on-line with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Simulation of the oxidative phase I metabolism of the compound was achieved in a simple electrochemical thin-layer cell consisting of three electrodes (ROXY, Antec Leyden, the Netherlands). Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Mar 4;669:481-492. Epub 2019 Mar 4.

University of Antwerp, Department of Biology, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.

Environmental monitoring and risk assessment approaches which include a more holistic view on the effects of pollutants on biota are increasingly sought by regulators and policy makers. Therefore, caged carp juveniles (Cyprinus carpio) were transplanted for 7 weeks along a known Cd and Zn pollution gradient. Metal (Cu, Cd and Zn) accumulation in gill and liver tissue and effect biomarkers (growth, condition factor (CF), hepatosomatic index (HSI), oxygen consumption, swimming capacity, Na/K-ATPase activity (NKA) and metallothionein (MT) levels) were compared. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Mar 9;669:471-480. Epub 2019 Mar 9.

DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, South Africa; National Zoological Garden, South African National Biodiversity Institute, P O Box 754, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Electronic address:

Poisoning, including secondary lead poisoning, is cited as the single most important cause of vulture mortalities in Africa. To evaluate the prevalence of lead poisoning among South Africa's Gyps vultures compared to other, non-scavenging birds, we obtained blood and bone samples from Cape (Gyps coprotheres) and White-backed (G. africanus) vultures. Read More

J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

State Key Laboratory of Space Medicine Fundamentals and Application, China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China.

Background: Muscle wasting occurs in response to various physiological and pathological conditions, including ageing and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) contributes to muscle pathogenesis in elderly people and DMD patients; inhibition of TGF-β1 signalling is a promising therapeutic strategy for muscle-wasting disorders. Hemojuvelin (HJV or Hjv as the murine homologue) is a membrane-bound protein that is highly expressed in skeletal muscle, heart, and liver. Read More

Mol Genet Genomic Med 2019 Mar 18:e649. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Interventional Center for Oncology, Beijing YouAn Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Background: Wilson's disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive genetic disease caused by mutations in ATP7B and characterized by copper metabolism disorders.

Methods: Direct sequencing of the ATP7B gene is the most sensitive and widely used confirmatory testing method. Fourteen probands with WD and 12 family members participated in this study. Read More

Liver Transpl 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

The Liver Frailty Index (LFI), composed of three performance-based tests (grip strength, chair stands, balance), is a tool specifically developed in patients with cirrhosis to objectively measure physical function, a critical determinant of health outcomes. We aimed to: 1) determine the range of LFI scores in adults with chronic liver disease but without cirrhosis, 2) determine the range of LFI scores in adults without known liver disease, and 3) evaluate reproducibility of the LFI in adults with cirrhosis listed for liver transplantation. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) assessed inter-rater reliability of the LFI. Read More

Liver Transpl 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Medanta Institute of Liver Transplantation and Regenerative medicine, Medanta The Medicity, Gurugram, India.

Post transplant non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is very common. The progression of fibrosis is accelerated in these patients as compared to NASH in general population. A meta-analysis including 2166 patients showed a 26% pooled prevalence of de novo NAFLD. Read More

Pediatr Transplant 2019 Mar 18:e13399. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of General Surgery and Transplant Surgery, Başkent University Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.

Food allergies often develop after liver transplant, especially in young children. However, data are scarce on clinical characteristics and patient outcomes. When we evaluated our pediatric liver transplant patients over a 16-year period, food allergy incidence was 8% (19/236 patients). Read More

Transpl Infect Dis 2019 Mar 18:e13078. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Pharmacy, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.

Introduction: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have transformed hepatitis C virus (HCV) management post-liver transplant. As HCV clears during DAA treatment, hepatic metabolism improves, resulting in decreased tacrolimus concentrations that may require dose adjustment. The purpose of this study was to determine appropriate management of immunosuppression in liver transplant recipients during and following treatment of HCV. Read More

Hepatol Res 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Gastroenterology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.

Aim: Sarcopenia has a negative impact on the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the significance of skeletal muscle volume and its changes in HCC patients receiving transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 179 HCC patients receiving TACE from 2006 to 2017. Read More

Dev Dyn 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Center for Reproductive Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.

Background: The DENND1A has been identified as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for small GTPase Rab35, which functions in endocytic trafficking to mediate the recycling of selective cargos. Genetic alterations within the DENND1A gene have been implicated in human disease such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, the role of DENND1A in developmental and reproductive processes is largely unknown. Read More

Hepatol Res 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.

Purposes: We aimed to compare the well-established liver fibrosis (LF) markers in Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB, n=331) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC, n=886) and to discuss possible causes of differences in results between CHB patients and CHC patients.

Methods: Virtual touch quantification (VTQ) in acoustic radiation force impulse, Fib-4 index, aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) and hyaluronic acid (HA) were compared between the two cohorts. As an additional investigation, total collagen proportional area (TCPA, %) was tested using liver pathological samples (n=83). Read More

J Vet Intern Med 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

Background: Copper-associated hepatopathy (CAH) is a common cause of liver disease in dogs. Although d-penicillamine can be an effective treatment, some dogs fail treatment or develop adverse effects. Ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (TTM) has been used to treat pathologic copper accumulation in other species, but its therapeutic potential for CAH is unknown. Read More

J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.

Background And Aim: Reduce post-absorptive (fasting) phase by eating late-evening snacks (LES) is a potential intervention to improve substrate utilization and reverse sarcopenia. This study analyzed the results of published randomized control and controlled clinical trials to evaluate the effects of LES on liver function of patients with cirrhosis.

Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted. Read More

Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China.

In this study, we investigated the biological activities of a novel berberine - metformin hybrid compound (BMH473) as an anti - diabetic agent. BMH473 exhibited significant anti - hyperglycemic and anti - hyperlipidemic effects on T2DM rats. In white adipose tissue, BMH473 reduced the perirenal and epididymal adipose tissue mass and modulated the lesions in perirenal adipose tissue, by inhibiting the protein expressions of PPAR - Ɣ, C / EBP - α and SREBP - 1c as well as the mRNA expressions of lipogenic genes. Read More

J Appl Toxicol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Pharmacology, Cinvestav-IPN, Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, 07360, Apartado Postal 14-740, Mexico City, Mexico.

Rebaudioside A (Reb A) is a diterpenoid isolated from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) that has been shown to possess pharmacological activity, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, the ability of Reb A to prevent liver injury has not been evaluated. Therefore, we aimed to study the potential of Reb A (20 mg/kg; two times daily intraperitoneally) to prevent liver injury induced by thioacetamide (TAA) administration (200 mg/kg; three times per week intraperitoneally). Read More

Hepatology 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Gastroenterology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410008, China.

According to the article conducted by Eduardo et al.(1), the non-transplant survival rate of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients with bridging necrosis and cirrhosis, which is a subtype of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), was found to be improved by vitamin E, who will reduce the occurrence of liver decompensation. However, combined with the literature we have reviewed and the clinical experience we have achieved, two important factors that may affect the study results will be proposed in the article. Read More

Biomed Chromatogr 2019 Mar 18:e4535. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of medical affairs, The Fifth People's Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai, China.

Celosin A (CA), a natural compound isolated from Celosia argentea L., has been shown significant hepatoprotective effect on AHNP-induced liver injury. This study described a rapid and sensitive ultra high pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC- MS/MS) assay for determining of CA in rat plasma. Read More

J Pathol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Extensive bile ductular reactions (DRs) accompany many cholestatic liver diseases such as primary biliary cholangitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) as well as parenchymal liver cell diseases such as alcoholic liver disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and HCV and HBV infections. DRs originate from bile ducts or hepatocytes after damage and can be identified by expression of markers associated with cholangiocytes, often being associated with disease progression and fibrosis. In a recent issue of The Journal of Pathology, Govaere et al employed high-throughput RNA sequencing to compare the transcriptomic profiles of DR cells from liver diseases of different aetiology; HCV infection affecting hepatocytes and PSC initially affecting biliary epithelial cells. Read More

J Pathol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.

Recent studies suggests that clear cell renal cell carcinoma ccRCC possesses a rare population of cancer stem cells (CSCs) that might contribute to tumor heterogeneity, metastasis and therapeutic resistance. Nevertheless, their relevance for renal cancer is still unclear. In this study, we successfully isolated CSCs from established human ccRCC cell lines. Read More

J Physiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford.

Excessive consumption of free sugars (which typically includes a composite of glucose and fructose) is associated with an increased risk of developing chronic metabolic diseases including obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Determining the utilisation, storage and fate of dietary sugars in metabolically relevant tissues is fundamental to understanding their contribution to metabolic disease risk. To date, the study of fructose metabolism has primarily focussed on the liver, where it has been implicated in impaired insulin sensitivity, increased fat accumulation and dyslipidaemia. Read More

Biotechnol Bioeng 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

CNRS UMI 2820; Laboratory for Integrated Micro Mechatronic Systems, Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

In the present study, we evaluated the performance of different protocols for the hepatic differentiation of hiPSCs in microfluidic biochips. Strategies for complete and partial on-chip differentiation were tested. Unlike full on-chip differentiation, the transfer of iPSCs from Petri dishes to biochips during the differentiation process produced a heterogeneous tissue with enhanced hepatic features compared to control cultures in Petri dishes. Read More

PLoS One 2019 18;14(3):e0213248. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Infectious Diseases Laboratory, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America.

During 2018, four free-ranging conures, from a naturalized flock in San Francisco, presented with a characteristic set of neurologic signs that had been reported in other individuals from this flock. The cause of morbidity or mortality in historic cases has not been identified. From these four subjects, fresh feces were collected during their initial days of hospitalization and submitted to the University of Georgia Infectious Diseases Laboratory and Center for Applied Isotope Studies for bromethalin and desmethyl-bromethalin quantitation. Read More

Ther Drug Monit 2019 Apr;41(2):227-234

In Vitro Drug Safety and Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a comprehensive phenomenon. The injury to the liver may occur as an unexpected and undesired reaction to a therapeutic dose of a drug (idiosyncratic reaction) or as an expected therapeutic effect of the direct (intrinsic) toxicity of a drug taken in a large enough dose to cause liver injury. The direct toxicity (type A) reactions represent an extension of the drug's therapeutic effect; they occur relatively frequently and are typically dose-related and frequency-of-exposure-related. Read More

Ther Drug Monit 2019 Apr;41(2):213-226

Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, University of Colorado at Denver, Aurora, Colorado.

Blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine are imperfect markers of kidney function because they are influenced by many renal and nonrenal factors independent of kidney function. A biomarker that is released directly into the blood or urine by the kidney in response to injury may be a better early marker of drug-induced kidney toxicity than blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine. Urine albumin and urine protein, as well as urinary markers kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), β2-microglobulin (B2M), cystatin C, clusterin, and trefoil factor-3 (TFF-3) have been accepted by the Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency as highly sensitive and specific urinary biomarkers to monitor drug-induced kidney injury in preclinical studies and on a case-by-case basis in clinical trials. Read More

Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2019 Mar 14. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Department of Pediatrics/Neonatology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review is to discuss evolving research into intestinal inflammatory responses as they relate to the developing microbiome and to provide insights into developing multiomic tools that are being used to describe these relationships. Intestinal inflammatory conditions are common, and in the neonate present special challenges, especially in the form of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and other conditions that involve damage or breakdown of the mucosal barrier, leading to systemic inflammation and damage to distal sites, such as the liver and brain.

Recent Studies: Recent studies show that when a dysbiosis (microbial imbalance or impaired microbiota) occurs, an inflammatory response that can affect the entire body is frequently the result. Read More

A A Pract 2019 Mar 14. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a rescue treatment for respiratory or cardiac failure. Its use is limited in patients predisposed to bleeding due to heparin administration. We present 2 patients with deranged coagulation after liver rupture successfully treated by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Read More

OMICS 2019 Mar;23(3):167-179

1 Department of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China.

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a major global health burden. Liver fibrosis, an insidious process, is the main histopathological change in CHB that might lead to the end-stage liver disease if left untreated. The intermediate liver fibrosis (S2) is the optimal time to start antiviral therapy. Read More

Mol Pharm 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CXCR4 gene and binds the ligand CXCL12 (also known as SDF-1). The CXCR4-CXCL12 interaction in cancer elicits biological activities that result in tumor progression and has accordingly been the subject of significant investigation for detection and treatment of disease. Peptidic antagonists have been labeled with a variety of radioisotopes for detection of CXCR4, but methodology utilizing small molecules have predominantly used radiometals. Read More

ACS Nano 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences , University of Padova , Padova , 35131 , Italy.

Steroids are the standard therapy for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) but the long-lasting administration is hampered by severe side effects. Methods to improve the tropism of the drug toward the liver are therefore required. Among them, conjugation to nanoparticles represents one possible strategy. Read More

Chem Biodivers 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis, Department of Chemistry, Bulevar Dr Zorana Djindjica 81, 18000, Nis, SERBIA.

DNase I inhibitory potential of water extract of nine Hypericum species (H. umbellatum, H. barbatum, H. Read More

Liver Int 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, Division of Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Rome, Italy.

Cholangiocarcinoma constitutes a heterogeneous group of malignancies that can emerge at any point of the biliary tree. Cholangiocarcinoma is classified into intrahepatic, perihilar and distal based on its anatomical location. Histologically, conventional perihilar/distal cholangiocarcinomas are mucin-producing adenocarcinomas or papillary tumors; intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas are more heterogeneous and can be sub-classified according to the level or size of the displayed bile duct. Read More

Liver Transpl 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Gastroenterology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Alcohol-associated liver disease can be coded in UNOS as either alcoholic cirrhosis or alcoholic hepatitis (AH), without specific criteria to assign either diagnosis. In this multi-center ACCELERATE-AH study, we sought to assess the concordance of clinician-diagnosis of AH at LT listing versus UNOS data-entry of AH as listing diagnosis. In a prior study, consecutive early LT recipients for AH between 2012-2017 were identified by chart review at 10 ACCELERATE-AH sites. Read More

Liver Transpl 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Liver Transplant Center, General Surgery 2U, University of Torino; A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza, Torino, Italy.

Splenic artery (SA) ligation can be performed during liver transplantation (LT) to avoid portal hyperperfusion, which is involved in the pathogenesis of both small-for-size and splenic artery syndrome. Splenic artery can also be used as an inflow for arterial reconstruction. Exceptionally, SA interruption or agenesis has been associated with positive remodeling of collateral arteries supplying the spleen via left gastric artery, short gastric vessels and gastroepiploic arcade, with subsequent severe upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Read More

Transpl Infect Dis 2019 Mar 18:e13079. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Infectious Diseases, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC.

Following an acute infection, the hepatitis C virus (HCV) can spontaneously clear (in 15-50% of cases) but often evolves to a chronic stage due to an ineffective immunological response . Chronic HCV infection may manifest from mild, asymptomatic liver disease to cirrhosis with development of complications such as liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma . Spontaneous clearance of chronic HCV infection without antiviral therapy is extremely rare, and the mechanisms involved are not well known. Read More

Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, Royal Free Hospital and UCL, London, UK.

Background: Collagen proportionate area (CPA) measurement is a technique that quantifies fibrous tissue in liver biopsies by measuring the amount of collagen deposition as a proportion of the total biopsy area. CPA predicts clinical outcomes in patients with HCV and can sub-classify cirrhosis.

Aims: To test the ability of CPA to quantify fibrosis and predict clinical outcomes in patients with NAFLD. Read More

Histopathology 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.

Aims: To investigate whether genetic or inflammatory pro-oncogenic factors are relevant to the increased risk of gallbladder cancers in patients with pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM).

Methods: Mutations in KRAS exon 2 were examined by a highly sensitive, droplet digital PCR platform using surgically resected specimens of PBM-associated (n=31) and non-associated gallbladder cancers (n=49). The tissue expression of IL-6 and IL-33, which are suspected to promote biliary carcinogenesis, was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR and in situ hybridization. Read More

Biomed Chromatogr 2019 Mar 18:e4536. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China.

Semen descurainiae oil (SDO) is an important traditional Chinese medicine that was discovered to have the function of reducing blood lipid in recent years. Metabolomics approach of plasma, liver and kidney in rats were performed using H-NMR and LC-MS to illuminate the lower blood lipid concentration effect of SDO, and the niacin was considered as active control. The measure of total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in plasma showed that SDO treatment decreased significantly the content of TC and LDL-C. Read More

Pediatr Infect Dis J 2019 Apr;38(4):e72-e74

From the Paediatric and Liver Unit, Meyer Children's University Hospital of Florence, Florence, Italy.

Preexistence and appearance of resistance-associated substitutions limit the efficacy of direct-acting antivirals in treatment of hepatitis C. This is the first case report of an adolescent with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 4 infection and cirrhosis who failed treatment with ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir and ribavirin. Resistance analysis showed baseline resistance-associated substitutions M28V and Y93C and emergent D168H. Read More