Prediction of post-ESD esophageal stricture by a nomogram and risk factor analysis of ineffective oral steroids prophylaxis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Several risk models for esophageal stricture after endoscopic submucosal dissection have been developed. However, some of them did not include the use of steroids in the risk analysis. Glucocorticoid sensitivity mediated by glucocorticoid receptor expression has not been discussed in this condition. METHODS: Clinical and endoscopic characteristics were included in the logistic regression model to establish a nomogram for stenosis prediction. The score for each risk factor was estimated. Risk factors of ineffective oral steroid prophylaxis were analyzed and glucocorticoid receptor expressions were detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Three hundred fourteen patients of endoscopic submucosal dissection for esophageal superficial neoplasms were included to develop the nomogram. The circumferential range(≤ 3/4, 3/4-1 or the whole circumference), longitudinal diameter reached 4 cm (yes or not) and lesion location (the cervical and upper thoracic part, the middle thoracic part or the lower thoracic part) consisted of the nomogram. Patients have a high risk of esophageal stricture if they have a total point greater than 36. In the simplified risk score model, the corresponding cutoff score was 1. 92 patients with oral steroid prophylaxis were separately analyzed and the circumferential mucosal defect involving 7/8 or more was an independent risk factor of ineffective prevention (OR 12.2, 95%CI 5.27-28.11). The expression of glucocorticoid receptor ß was higher in the stricture group (p = 0.042 for AOD; p = 0.016 for the scoring system). CONCLUSIONS: We established a nomogram for esophageal stricture prediction. Depending on the characteristics of lesions, it is possible to estimate the risk of stricture under routine post-ESD treatments (no steroids or oral steroids). Alternative treatments should be considered if the risk is extremely high, especially for patients with mucosal defects involving 7/8 or more of circumference in which oral steroid treatment tends to be ineffective. The higher glucocorticoid receptor ß may indicate potential glucocorticoid resistance.

Optical enhancement mode 2 improves the detection rate of gastric neoplastic lesion in high-risk populations: A multicenter randomized controlled clinical study.

OBJECTIVES: Detection of early neoplastic lesions is crucial for improving the survival rates of patients with gastric cancer. Optical enhancement mode 2 is a new image-enhanced endoscopic technique that offers bright images and can improve the visibility of neoplastic lesions. This study aimed to compare the detection of neoplastic lesions with optical enhancement mode 2 and white-light imaging (WLI) in a high-risk population. METHODS: In this prospective multicenter randomized controlled trial, patients were randomly assigned to optical enhancement mode 2 or WLI groups. Detection of suspicious neoplastic lesions during the examinations was recorded, and pathological diagnoses served as the gold standard. RESULTS: A total of 1211 and 1219 individuals were included in the optical enhancement mode 2 and WLI groups, respectively. The detection rate of neoplastic lesions was significantly higher in the optical enhancement mode 2 group (5.1% vs. 1.9%; risk ratio, 2.656 [95% confidence interval, 1.630-4.330]; p < 0.001). The detection rate of neoplastic lesions with an atrophic gastritis background was significantly higher in the optical enhancement mode 2 group (8.6% vs. 2.6%, p < 0.001). The optical enhancement mode 2 group also had a higher detection rate among endoscopists with different experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Optical enhancement mode 2 was more effective than WLI for detecting neoplastic lesions in the stomach, and can serve as a new method for screening early gastric cancer in clinical practice. CLINICAL REGISTRY: United States National Library of Medicine (https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov), ID: NCT040720521.

The Effect of Using Premedication of Simethicone/Pronase With or Without Postural Change on Visualization of the Mucosa Before Endoscopy: A Prospective, Double Blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial.

INTRODUCTION: To investigate the efficacy and safety of preprocedural simethicone (S) and pronase (P) for optimal mucosal visualization during esophagogastroduodenoscopy with sedation. The effect of postural change combined with premedication on mucosal visibility was also examined. METHODS: The study randomized 496 patients into 8 groups based on the type of premedication provided and whether a postural change occurred. The premedication in the control group was 100 mL of normal saline solution (NS). The remaining 3 intervention groups were administered 100 mL of simethicone alone (S), pronase solution alone (P), and simethicone plus pronase solution (S + P). Each group was classified into subgroups according to whether there was a postural change (PC). The mucosal visibility score (MVS), total mucosal visibility score (TVS), procedure time, water consumption for mucosal cleansing, and proportion of patients with diminutive lesions <5 mm were recorded. RESULTS: The P and S groups had a significantly better TVS than the NS group (11.86 ± 3.36 in group P vs 14.52 ± 2.57 in group NS, P < 0.001; 12.36 ± 2.93 in group S vs 14.52 ± 2.57 in group NS, P = 0.006). The TVS was better in the P group than in the S group (11.86 ± 3.36 vs 12.36 ± 2.93, P = 0.037). The MVS was significantly better in the esophagus and duodenum and worse in the upper and lower gastric body in the S group than in the P group. The P + S group had a significantly better TVS than the P and S groups (9.81 ± 2.90 in group P + S vs 11.86 ± 3.36 in group P and 12.36 ± 2.93 in group S, respectively, P < 0.001),\ and had a reduced amount of flushing water during the procedure (0 [interquartile range [IQR]: 0-33] mL in group P + S vs 40 [IQR: 0-70] mL in group P, P < 0.01; 0 [IQR: 0-33] mL in group P + S vs 50 [IQR: 20-98] mL in group S, P < 0.001). The TVS was significantly better in the P + S + PC group than in the P + S group (8.44 ± 2.10 vs 9.81 ± 2.90, P = 0.003). The MVS was significantly better in the gastric antrum, fundus, and upper and lower gastric body in the P + S + PC group than in the P + S group. There was no significant difference in the detection rate of diminutive lesions among the different groups during an endoscopic examination ( P > 0.05). DISCUSSION: The combination of preprocedural administration with simethicone and pronase achieved superior mucosal visualization compared with saline, simethicone, or pronase alone in patients receiving upper endoscopy. Postural change maneuvers performed before endoscopy further improved the mucosal visibility in most parts of the stomach when used with preprocedural simethicone and pronase.

Endoscopic and surgical treatment of jejunal gallstone ileus caused by cholecystoduodenal fistula: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Gallstone ileus is a rare complication of gallstone disease in which a stone enters the enteric lumen and causes mechanical obstruction usually by bilioenteric fistula. Gallstone ileus accounts for 25% of all bowel obstructions among the population > 65 years of age. Despite medical advances over the last decades, gallstone ileus is still associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. CASE SUMMARY: An 89-year-old man with a history of gallstones was admitted to the Gastroenterology Department of our hospital, complaining of vomiting and cessation of bowel movements and flatus. Abdominal computed tomography showed cholecystoduodenal fistula and upper jejunum obstruction due to gallstones, pneumatosis in the gallbladder, and pneumobilia indicating Rigler's triad. Considering the high risk of surgical management, we performed propulsive enteroscopy and laser lithotripsy twice to relieve the bowel occlusion. However, the intestinal obstruction was not relieved by the less invasive procedure. Then, the patient was transferred to the Department of Biliary-pancreatic Surgery. The patient underwent the one-stage procedure including laparoscopic duodenoplasty (fistula closure), cholecystectomy, enterolithotomy, and repair. After surgery, the patient presented with complications of acute renal failure, postoperative leak, acute diffuse peritonitis, septicopyemia, septic shock, and multiple organ failure, and finally died. CONCLUSION: Early surgical intervention is the mainstay of treatment for gallstone ileus. For elderly patients with significant comorbidities, enterolithotomy alone is advised.

Endoscopic treatment of early esophageal cancer with decompensated cirrhosis and successful prevention of postoperative stenosis: A case report.

The management of gastrointestinal tumors with decompensated cirrhosis is extremely challenging. Patients often present with poor basic condition and coagulation function, and nutritional deficiency. Furthermore, postoperative recovery is difficult and so the majority of patients refuse surgery. The present study reports the case of a 73-year-old man with decompensated cirrhosis and early esophageal cancer. At the discretion of the patient and their family, a simultaneous approach was used to treat esophagogastric varices and perform a mucosal dissection of the early esophageal cancer via endoscopy. Post-surgery, multiple polyglycolic acid sheets were attached to the esophageal dissection wound. At >2 months post-surgery, an endoscopic re-examination of the patient showed that the esophageal mucosa had healed well, and there was no resistance detected via ordinary endoscopy. The main objective of the present study was to highlight the feasibility and safety of endoscopic treatment for patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis complicated with early esophageal cancer, and to provide a new treatment strategy for patients at high risk of esophageal stenosis after endoscopic mucosal dissection.

Clinical outcomes of endoscopic treatment for gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors: a single-center study of 240 cases in China.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Endoscopic resection (ER) gradually becomes an important treatment method for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ER of gastric GISTs. METHODS: This retrospective study included 240 patients with gastric GISTs who underwent ER at Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2010 to December 2019. The clinicopathologic, endoscopic and follow-up data of the patients were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: The mean maximum tumor diameter was 1.67 ± 1.00 cm (range 0.2-6.5 cm), of which 156 cases (65.00%) were small gastric GISTs (tumor diameter < 2 cm). A total of 43 patients (17.92%) had perioperative bleeding, including 40 cases (16.67%) of minor bleeding and three cases (1.25%) of major bleeding. Perioperative perforation occurred in 101 patients (42.08%), of which 51 patients (21.25%) were active perforation and 50 patients (20.83%) were passive perforation. The en bloc resection rate was 97.08% (233/240), and seven cases (2.92%) had piecemeal resection. There were three cases (1.92%) of small gastric GISTs at intermediate risk and one case (0.64%) at high risk. A total of 193 patients were followed up, and no tumor residual, recurrence or metastasis occurred within a median follow-up time of 30 months (range 1-127 months). CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic treatment for gastric GISTs is safe and effective. Piecemeal resection does not seem to be related to the patient's prognosis. Endoscopic resection can be performed if patients are willing to remove small gastric GISTs.

Development and validation of an online model to predict critical COVID-19 with immune-inflammatory parameters.

BACKGROUND: Immune and inflammatory dysfunction was reported to underpin critical COVID-19(coronavirus disease 2019). We aim to develop a machine learning model that enables accurate prediction of critical COVID-19 using immune-inflammatory features at admission. METHODS: We retrospectively collected 2076 consecutive COVID-19 patients with definite outcomes (discharge or death) between January 27, 2020 and March 30, 2020 from two hospitals in China. Critical illness was defined as admission to intensive care unit, receiving invasive ventilation, or death. Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) was applied for feature selection. Five machine learning algorithms, including Logistic Regression (LR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Gradient Boosted Decision Tree (GBDT), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), and Neural Network (NN) were built in a training dataset, and assessed in an internal validation dataset and an external validation dataset. RESULTS: Six features (procalcitonin, [T + B + NK cell] count, interleukin 6, C reactive protein, interleukin 2 receptor, T-helper lymphocyte/T-suppressor lymphocyte) were finally used for model development. Five models displayed varying but all promising predictive performance. Notably, the ensemble model, SPMCIIP (severity prediction model for COVID-19 by immune-inflammatory parameters), derived from three contributive algorithms (SVM, GBDT, and NN) achieved the best performance with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.991 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.979-1.000) in internal validation cohort and 0.999 (95% CI 0.998-1.000) in external validation cohort to identify patients with critical COVID-19. SPMCIIP could accurately and expeditiously predict the occurrence of critical COVID-19 approximately 20 days in advance. CONCLUSIONS: The developed online prediction model SPMCIIP is hopeful to facilitate intensive monitoring and early intervention of high risk of critical illness in COVID-19 patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was retrospectively registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( ChiCTR2000032161 ). vv.

Regulatory T Cells in Autoimmune Hepatitis: Unveiling Their Roles in Mouse Models and Patients.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a severe and chronic liver disease, and its incidence has increased worldwide in recent years. Research into the pathogenesis of AIH remains limited largely owing to the lack of suitable mouse models. The concanavalin A (ConA) mouse model is a typical and well-established model used to investigate T cell-dependent liver injury. However, ConA-induced hepatitis is acute and usually disappears after 48 h; thus, it does not mimic the pathogenesis of AIH in the human body. Several studies have explored various AIH mouse models, but as yet there is no widely accepted and valid mouse model for AIH. Immunosuppression is the standard clinical therapy for AIH, but patient side effects and recurrence limit its use. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play critical roles in the maintenance of immune homeostasis and in the prevention of autoimmune diseases, which may provide a potential therapeutic target for AIH therapy. However, the role of Tregs in AIH has not yet been clarified, partly because of difficulties in diagnosing AIH and in collecting patient samples. In this review, we discuss the studies related to Treg in various AIH mouse models and patients with AIH and provide some novel insights for this research area.

Machine learning based early warning system enables accurate mortality risk prediction for COVID-19.

Soaring cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are pummeling the global health system. Overwhelmed health facilities have endeavored to mitigate the pandemic, but mortality of COVID-19 continues to increase. Here, we present a mortality risk prediction model for COVID-19 (MRPMC) that uses patients' clinical data on admission to stratify patients by mortality risk, which enables prediction of physiological deterioration and death up to 20 days in advance. This ensemble model is built using four machine learning methods including Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine, Gradient Boosted Decision Tree, and Neural Network. We validate MRPMC in an internal validation cohort and two external validation cohorts, where it achieves an AUC of 0.9621 (95% CI: 0.9464-0.9778), 0.9760 (0.9613-0.9906), and 0.9246 (0.8763-0.9729), respectively. This model enables expeditious and accurate mortality risk stratification of patients with COVID-19, and potentially facilitates more responsive health systems that are conducive to high risk COVID-19 patients.

Risk factors for developing into critical COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, China: A multicenter, retrospective, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The ferocious global assault of COVID-19 continues. Critically ill patients witnessed significantly higher mortality than severe and moderate ones. Herein, we aim to comprehensively delineate clinical features of COVID-19 and explore risk factors of developing critical disease. METHODS: This is a Mini-national multicenter, retrospective, cohort study involving 2,387 consecutive COVID-19 inpatients that underwent discharge or death between January 27 and March 21, 2020. After quality control, 2,044 COVID-19 inpatients were enrolled. Electronic medical records were collected to identify the risk factors of developing critical COVID-19. FINDINGS: The severity of COVID-19 climbed up straightly with age. Critical group was characterized by higher proportion of dyspnea, systemic organ damage, and long-lasting inflammatory storm. All-cause mortality of critical group was 85•45%, by contrast with 0•58% for severe group and 0•18% for moderate group. Logistic regression revealed that sex was an effect modifier for hypertension and coronary heart disease (CHD), where hypertension and CHD were risk factors solely in males. Multivariable regression showed increasing odds of critical illness associated with hypertension, CHD, tumor, and age ≥ 60 years for male, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), tumor, and age ≥ 60 years for female. INTERPRETATION: We provide comprehensive front-line information about different severity of COVID-19 and insights into different risk factors associated with critical COVID-19 between sexes. These results highlight the significance of dividing risk factors between sexes in clinical and epidemiologic works of COVID-19, and perhaps other coronavirus appearing in future. FUNDING: 10.13039/100000001 National Science Foundation of China.

Hepatocytes paradoxically affect intrahepatic IFN-γ production in autoimmune hepatitis due to Gal-9 expression and TLR2/4 ligand release.

Hepatocytes are the targets in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) that results in T cell-dependent liver injury. However, hepatocytes may also affect the hepatic T cells in AIH, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we report that hepatocytes could secrete galectin-9 (Gal-9) to suppress the intrahepatic production of Th1 cytokine IFN-γ and restrict AIH development, but hepatocyte damage resulted in opposite effects due to release of TLR2/4 ligands that promoted the intrahepatic production of IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-12. Through Tim-3, Gal-9 could efficiently suppress the intrahepatic T cell activation despite presence of TLR2/4 ligands, thus attenuating Th1 response in AIH. Intriguingly, intrahepatic IL-6/IL-12 suppressed the effect of TGF-ß on Treg cells. Therefore, in AIH, Gal-9 promoted Foxp3 expression and function of hepatic Treg cells through TL1A signaling, although Treg function was still impaired, compared with that in naive state. Due to its promoting effect on Treg function, together with its effect on T effector cells in a Tim-3-independent way, Gal-9 could attenuate intrahepatic IFN-γ production by hindering the increase of hepatic CD4+CD43+ T cells resulting from extrahepatic T cell activation. TLR2/4 ligands attenuated the effects of Gal-9 on Treg cells and CD4+CD43+ T cells by increasing intrahepatic IL-6 and IL-12. Blocking TLR2/4 ligands could efficiently suppress intrahepatic IFN-γ production, liver injury, and hepatic fibrosis. These findings suggest that hepatocytes paradoxically affect Th1 response in AIH due to Gal-9 expression and TLR2/4 ligands release, and that targeting TLR2/4 signaling may provide an important approach in the therapeutic strategy for AIH.

Plasma proteomic analysis of autoimmune hepatitis in an improved AIH mouse model.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is increasing, and its early clinical diagnosis is difficult. The pathogenesis of AIH remains unclear, and AIH-related studies are largely limited because of lack of suitable mouse models. METHODS: To obtain a good tool for research on AIH, we first established an improved immune-mediated mouse model that can mimic the pathological process of AIH as in the human body, through repeated injections of human cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) plasmid. Next, a proteomic analysis based on isobaric tag (IBT) technology was performed to detect the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), and related biological functions and pathways in the plasma of AIH and normal mice. Finally, we performed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to further confirm the most abundant DEP in the plasma of patients with AIH. RESULTS: Autoantibodies and the characteristic pathology of AIH were observed in our mouse model. Inflammatory infiltration also increased in the livers of AIH mice over time and plateaued by day 42 post the first injection. Chronic hepatitis was most severe on day 35 with the development of fibrosis as well, and the plasma of AIH mice were collected for proteomic analysis. A total of 176 DEPs were found in this experiment, of which 148 DEPs were up-regulated and 28 DEPs were down-regulated. Thirty significant Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways (P < 0.05) were detected. Arginine biosynthesis was found to be the most significant pathway involved in the AIH process. During the Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, most DEPs were found to be involved in the binding, cellular, and metabolic processes. Using ELISA, the most overexpressed DEP, serum amyloid A 1 (SAA1), was confirmed to be increased specifically in the plasma of patients with AIH compared to other chronic hepatitis. Different plasma levels of SAA1 were also found related to different grades of inflammation and stages of fibrosis in the liver of patients with AIH. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to describe the proteomics analysis of a true sense of AIH mouse model, which is beneficial for a better understanding of AIH pathogenesis and identifying potential biomarkers for its clinical diagnosis.

The JAK inhibitor tofacitinib ameliorates immune­mediated liver injury in mice.

The prevalence of immune­mediated liver diseases such as autoimmune liver disease or viral hepatitis has increased in recent years, and the side effects of pre­existing treatments are a worldwide problem. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) and T helper 17 (Th17) cells play important roles in the development of immune­mediated hepatitis and may serve as potential therapeutic targets. Tofacitinib, a new Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, is under investigation for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis; it is also helpful in treating ulcerative colitis and psoriasis. The roles of tofacitinib were investigated in conferring protection against immune­mediated liver injury in mice. T cell­mediated hepatitis was induced by concanavalin A (ConA). The mice in the treatment groups were administered with tofacitinib intragastrically before the ConA injection. Histopathological examination was performed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, and the serum transaminase and inflammatory cytokine levels were determined using an automatic biochemistry analysis apparatus or cytometric bead array (CBA) kits. Flow cytometric analysis was used to detect Tregs and Th17 cells. Tofacitinib significantly decreased the hepatic injury induced by ConA and prominently decreased the liver transaminase level. The secretion of several anti­inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)­10 was upregulated in mice from the treatment group, compared to that in mice treated with ConA alone, while the expression of interferon­Î³ (IFN­Î³) and tumor necrosis factor­α (TNF­α) decreased. Tofacitinib treatment increased the number of Tregs and reduced the number of Th17 cells. Furthermore, tofacitinib could relieve liver fibrosis under conditions of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). The present results indicated that tofacitinib improved immune­mediated hepatitis and restored the impaired Treg/Th17 cell ratio, which suggests that it may serve as a novel treatment approach for immune­mediated liver diseases.

IL-37 suppresses the sustained hepatic IFN-γ/TNF-α production and T cell-dependent liver injury.

T cell-dependent liver injury is an important reason for the massive hepatic damage and cirrhosis. So far it is unclear whether the development of the disease could be efficiently suppressed by anti-inflammatory cytokine that modulates innate immune cells. Here we report that anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-37 could efficiently suppress the sustained hepatic expression of IFN-γ and TNF-α, two critical cytokines for inducing hepatocyte apoptosis and liver fibrosis in T cell-dependent liver injury. IL-37 could directly suppress IFN-γ/TLR4 ligand-induced M1 activation of macrophages, thus reducing the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-12. Moreover, IL-37 attenuated Th1 response in vivo and increased the expression of Th2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-13, which in turn promoted M2 activation of macrophages in the liver. The increase of M2 activation not only further reduced TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-12 expression, but also increased IL-10 and IL-1Ra expression in macrophages, thus more efficiently suppressing the hepatic IFN-γ expression. By suppressing IFN-γ/TNF-α expression, IL-37 suppressed the up-regulation and activation of MLKL that drives hepatocellular necrosis in T cell-dependent liver damage. Accordingly, IL-37 efficiently reduced liver injury and hepatic inflammation after the repeated ConA challenge and the induction of autoimmune hepatitis, and also suppressed hepatic fibrosis resulting from the sustained liver damage. This study showed that the direct and indirect effect of IL-37 on macrophages could reduce the hepatic TNF-α expression, and also modulate IL-1ß/IL-12 and IL-10/IL-1Ra expression to suppress the hepatic IFN-γ expression, thus suppressing the development of T cell-dependent liver injury such as autoimmune hepatitis.

TLR2/4 ligand-amplified liver inflammation promotes initiation of autoimmune hepatitis due to sustained IL-6/IL-12/IL-4/IL-25 expression.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), a serious autoimmune liver disease, can be a lifelong illness, leading to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). So far the mechanisms for disease initiation are largely unknown. Here we report that the amplified non-AIH liver inflammation could promote the initiation of AIH due to the sustained increase of IL-6, IL-12, IL-4, and IL-25 in the liver. The liver injury resulting from virus (adenovirus) or chemicals (CCl4) could induce an amplified (stronger/long-lasting) hepatic inflammation by releasing the ligands for TLR2/TLR4. The amplified inflammation resulted in the increase of multiple cytokines and chemokines in the liver. Among them, the sustained increase of IL-6/IL-12 resulted in the activation of STAT3 and STAT4 in hepatic CD4+CD25+ Treg cells, thus suppressing Foxp3 gene expression to reduce the suppressive function of Treg cells in the liver, but not those in the spleen. The increase of IL-12 and the impairment of Treg function promoted Th1 response in presence of self-mimicking antigen (human CYP2D6). Intriguingly, the amplified inflammation resulted in the increase of IL-4 and IL-25 in the liver. The moderate increase of IL-4 was sufficient for cooperating with IL-25 to initiate Th2 response, but inefficient in suppressing Th1 response, favoring the initiation of autoimmune response. Consequently, either adenovirus/CYP2D6 or CCl4/CYP2D6 could induce the autoimmune response and AIH in the mice, leading to hepatic fibrosis. The findings in this study suggest that the amplified non-AIH inflammation in the liver could be a driving force for the initiation of autoimmune response and AIH.

C/EBPß enhances platinum resistance of ovarian cancer cells by reprogramming H3K79 methylation.

Chemoresistance is a major unmet clinical obstacle in ovarian cancer treatment. Epigenetics plays a pivotal role in regulating the malignant phenotype, and has the potential in developing therapeutically valuable targets that improve the dismal outcome of this disease. Here we show that a series of transcription factors, including C/EBPß, GCM1, and GATA1, could act as potential modulators of histone methylation in tumor cells. Of note, C/EBPß, an independent prognostic factor for patients with ovarian cancer, mediates an important mechanism through which epigenetic enzyme modifies groups of functionally related genes in a context-dependent manner. By recruiting the methyltransferase DOT1L, C/EBPß can maintain an open chromatin state by H3K79 methylation of multiple drug-resistance genes, thereby augmenting the chemoresistance of tumor cells. Therefore, we propose a new path against cancer epigenetics in which identifying and targeting the key regulators of epigenetics such as C/EBPß may provide more precise therapeutic options in ovarian cancer.