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Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in patients with liver cirrhosis and its medication characteristics. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for 89 patients with liver cirrhosis and PVT who were hospitalized and treated in Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and according to whether TCM treatment was applied in combination, they were divided into TCM group with 59 patients and control group with 30 patients. Related data were collected for the two groups, including demographic data, laboratory examination, radiological examination, gastroscopy, history of surgery, portal hypertension-related complications, medication, and follow-up data. The independent samples t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Mann-Whitney U rank sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups; the chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. An ordinal polytomous Logistic regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis. TCM Inheritance Computing Platform (V3.0) was used to perform a drug effect cluster analysis of TCM prescriptions. Results The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that esophageal and gastric varices (odds ratio [ OR ]=3.144, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.221-8.094), PVT involving the portal vein (PV) and the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) ( OR =51.667, 95% CI : 3.536-754.859), PVT involving PV+spleen vein (SV)+SMV ( OR =13.271, 95% CI : 2.290-76.928), cavernous transformation of the portal vein ( OR =11.896, 95% CI : 1.172-120.696), and TCM intervention ( OR =0.348, 95% CI : 0.129-0.938) were influencing factors for the outcome of PVT in liver cirrhosis. Follow-up results showed that compared with the control group, the TCM group had a significantly lower progression rate (16.95% vs 56.67%, P < 0.001) and a significantly lower incidence rate of variceal rupture and bleeding (8.47% vs 33.33%, P < 0.001). Effective TCM drugs with a relatively high frequency of use included deficiency-tonifying drugs (359 times, 34.6%), blood-activating and stasis-resolving drugs (202 times, 19.5%), and diuresis-inducing and dampness-draining drugs (180 times, 17.3%); the TCM drugs with a relatively high frequency of use included Astragalus membranaceus (57 times, 8.7%), Angelica sinensis (50 times, 7.6%), and leech (48 times, 7.3%); TCM drug combinations with a relatively high frequency of use included Astragalus membranaceus+Angelica sinensis, Astragalus membranaceus+leech, Angelica sinensis+leech, and Astragalus membranaceus+Angelica sinensis+leech. Conclusion Qi-tonifying, blood-activating, and stasis-breaking drugs, such as Astragalus membranaceus, Angelica sinensis, and leech, can promote the stabilization or recanalization of PVT in liver cirrhosis and reduce the incidence rate of bleeding events due to portal hypertension.
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Objective To investigate the role of glutathione transferase in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) induced by high-fat diet using the RNA-Seq technique in combination with gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of differentially expressed genes. Methods A total of 14 male C57BL/6J mice were divided into control group with 6 mice and model group with 8 mice by random sampling. The mice in the control group were fed with normal diet, and those in the model group were fed with high-fat diet for 7 consecutive weeks to establish a model of NAFLD. Kits were used to measure the activities of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and the level of triglyceride (TG), and HE staining and oil red staining were used to observe liver pathology and deposition of lipid droplets. Liver tissue RNA was extracted for RNA-Seq, and genes with a fold change of ≥2.0 and a P value of 0.05). Compared with the control group, the model group had a significantly higher serum level of TG (2.02±0.50 mmol/L vs 1.00±0.29 mmol/L, t =-4.45, P =0.001). HE staining showed diffuse steatosis and ballooning degeneration in the model group, and oil red staining showed that the model group had a significant increase in orange-red lipid droplets in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes and a significantly higher grade of hepatocyte steatosis than the control group (1.88±0.64 vs 1.00±0.00, t =-3.86, P =0.006). RNA-seq results showed a total of 1367 differentially expressed genes between the two groups, among which there were 608 upregulated genes and 759 downregulated genes, and there were 17 differentially expressed GST genes between the two groups. The top 10 GST genes in terms of fold change were validated, and compared with the control group, the model group had downregulated expression of GSTa2, GSTa3, GSTa4, GSTm1, GSTm2, GSTm3, GSTm4, GSTp1, and GSTo1 and upregulated expression of GSTk1. The results of qRT-PCR were consistent with the results of sequencing. Conclusion GST affects lipid metabolism by participating in various biological processes such as steroid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and cholesterol metabolism and is closely associated with the pathogenesis of NAFLD.
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Objective To investigate the clinical features of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) due to Tripterygium wilfordii preparation and concomitant medications in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 112 RA patients with DILI caused by Tripterygium wilfordii preparations and concomitant medications who were treated in Honghu Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2014 to December 2019, and demographic data and the clinical features of DILI were observed to explore the influence of concomitant medications and underlying diseases on DILI. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups and further comparison between two groups. Results All 112 patients had a mean age of 48.13±14.38 years, and there were 81 female patients (72.32%). The most common underlying disease was nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in 8 patients (7.14%), and as for concomitant medications, 70 patients (62.50%) were treated with Tripterygium wilfordii preparation combined with non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) or disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD). The main clinical manifestation was joint pain in 110 patients (98.21%). Among the 112 patients, 102 (91.07%) had abnormal results of liver biochemical examinations; 66 patients (58.93%) had an RUCAM score of 6-8 points, and 110 patients (98.21%) had mild (grade 1) liver injury. After liver-protecting treatment (for less than 6 months in all patients), all patients had an improvement in liver function without aggravation or death. The Tripterygium wilfordii preparation+glucocorticoid+NSAID/DMARD group with 22 patients had significant increases in the serum levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) compared with the Tripterygium wilfordii preparation+NSAID/DMARD group with 70 patients ( P < 0.05). The 8 patients with NAFLD had a significantly greater increase in serum alanine aminotransferase compared with the 90 patients without underlying diseases ( P < 0.05). Conclusion RA patients may develop DILI due to Tripterygium wilfordii preparation and concomitant medications, which is commonly observed in middle-aged women. Joint pain is the main clinical manifestation, and patients tend to have mild liver injury and good prognosis without marked chronicity. More severe liver injury is observed in patients with combined medication of glucocorticoids and NSAID/DMARD or those with the underlying disease of NAFLD.
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Immune checkpoint inhibitors can enhance the anti-tumor effect of T cells by blocking the negative regulatory signal of T cells, and meanwhile, they may also cause the imbalance of immune tolerance or normal immune hyperfunction, thus leading to immune hepatitis. This article mainly reviews the therapeutic mechanism of immune checkpoint inhibitors, their mechanism in causing the adverse reaction of liver injury, related risk factors, and incidence rate and summarizes the treatment methods for liver injury caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors. It is believed that while promoting anti-tumor immunity, immune checkpoint inhibitors may cause non-homogeneous immune-related liver injury due to the specificity of non-tumor tissue targets, and the main purpose of treatment is to restore immune homeostasis. Therefore, the management of patients using immune checkpoint inhibitors often requires a balance between treatment window, toxicity, and treatment of specific injury, as well as multidisciplinary collaboration.
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Objective To investigate the characteristic manifestation of the peripheral seroimmunological indicators such as cellular immunity and cytokines in drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Methods The medical records of 219 patients with DILI collected in Shuguang Hospital and Baoshan Branch from January 2019 to August 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, grouped according to the type of drug injury and the degree of injury, and their clinical characteristics, biochemical and peripheral serum immunological characteristics were analyzed. analyze.Twenty-nine cases were selected from the healthy subjects as the normal liver function group, and 42 cases of DILI cases who had undergone cytokine and cellular immune evaluation within 1 week before the acute onset treatment were confirmed as the DILI control group. The t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups; the Fisher test was used to compare the count data between groups. Results Among the 219 DILI patients, 122 (56%) were female and 97 (44 %) were male. 89 cases (40%) of injuries were caused by traditional Chinese medicines, proprietary Chinese medicines or health products, and 130 cases (60%) were caused by western medicines such as anti-tuberculosis and anti-tumor. Among them, 82 cases (37%) were classified as hepatocyte injury type, 17 cases (8%) of cholestatic type, and 120 cases (55%) of mixed injury type. The longest incubation period was 180 days, the shortest was 1 day, and the median was 15 days. Fatigue accounted for 49% of the main symptoms. There were statistically significant differences in cytotoxic T lymphocytes (%) and CD4/CD8 ratio between the traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese patent medicine or health product group and the western medicine group ( Z =2.55 and 3.08, P =0.011 and 0.002, ). From 219 DILI patients, it was confirmed that 42 patients who had detected peripheral immune indicators were compared with 29 patients with normal liver function physical examination. The statistical analysis showed that IL-6 and IL-10 were statistically significant in the peripheral immune serum distribution of DILI. Significance ( Z =3.828 and 2.695, P < 0.001 and 0.007). Conclusion Cytotoxic T lymphocytes may play different roles in the pathogenic mechanisms of Chinese herbal medicines, Chinese patent medicine preparations or health products and western medicines; drugs or drug-protein complexes may affect inflammatory and immune pathways and release related cytokines For example, IL-6 and IL-10 are involved in the pathogenesis of DILI.
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Objective To investigate the efficacy of endoscopic ligation combined with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome differentiation-based treatment in the secondary prevention of esophageal variceal bleeding (EVB) in patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods A total of 108 EVB patients who were admitted to Department of Liver Cirrhosis, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from April 2015 to February 2021 and underwent endoscopic ligation were enrolled, among whom 59 patients with TCM treatment were enrolled as Chinese and Western medicine group, and 49 patients without TCM treatment were enrolled as Western medicine group. The two groups were compared in terms of the incidence rate of rebleeding, mortality rate, and the improvement rate of portal hypertensive gastropathy. The t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups, and the Mann-Whitney U rank sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups; the chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups; a Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk factors for rebleeding. Results Compared with the Western medicine group, the Chinese and Western medicine group had a significantly lower rebleeding rate within 13-24 months after ligation (2% vs 12%, P =0.045), a significantly lower mortality rate of rebleeding (2% vs 12%, P =0.045), and a significantly higher overall response rate of portal hypertensive gastropathy (90% vs 77%, P =0.04). Underlying diseases (mainly including diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease) and Child-Pugh class for liver function were significant risk factors for rebleeding (all P < 0.05). Conclusion Ligation combined with TCM treatment can significantly reduce the incidence rate of delayed rebleeding and the mortality rate of EVB and improve the degree of portal hypertensive gastropathy, which provides a new strategy for ligation combined with TCM treatment to improve the overall response of EVB secondary prevention.
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Objective To investigate the intervention effect of GDC-0449, a hedgehog signaling pathway inhibitor, on rats with liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) combined with 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF). Methods A total of 18 female Fisher344 rats were randomly divided into normal group, CCl 4 /2-AAF group, and GDC-0449 group, with 6 rats in each group. The rats in the CCl 4 /2-AAF group and the GDC-0449 group were given subcutaneously injected 30% CCl 4 -olive oil solution at a dose of 2 mL/kg twice a week for 6 weeks to induce liver fibrosis; since week 7, in addition to the injection of CCl 4 -olive oil solution, the rats in these two groups were given 2-AAF (100 mg/kg/d) by gavage, and the rats in the GDC-0449 group were given GDC-0449 (25 mg/kg/d) by gavage, while those in the normal group were given an equal volume of olive oil solution by injection and normal saline by gavage. All rats were sacrificed at the end of week 9, and related samples were collected. HE staining and sirius red (SR) staining were used to observe the changes in liver histopathology and collagen deposition, and the semi-quantitative analysis of SR-positive area and Ishak score were used to evaluate fibrosis degree; the alkaline hydrolysis method was used to measure the level of hydroxyproline (Hyp) in liver tissue; immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and qRT-PCR were used to measure the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), type Ⅰ collagen (Col-Ⅰ), type Ⅳ collagen (Col-Ⅳ), cytokeratin 19 (CK19), cytokeratin 7 (CK7), the epithelial cell adhesion molecule Epcam, and the hedgehog signaling pathway in liver tissue; double immunofluorescence staining was used to observe the colocalization of CK19 and the oval cell marker OV6. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups, and the least significant difference t -test was used for further comparison between two groups. Results Compared with the normal group, the CCl 4 /2-AAF group had marked inflammatory cell aggregation and collagen deposition in liver tissue, with the formation of a pseudolobular structure, as well as significant increases in Hyp level and collagen positive area ratio in liver tissue ( P < 0.05), Ishak score ( P < 0.05), and the expression of α-SMA, Col-Ⅰ, Col-Ⅳ, Epcam, CK19, CK7, the transmembrane transporter Smoothened (Smo), Hedgehog ligand Desert Hedgehog (Dhh), the Indian Hedgehog membrane-binding receptor Patched (Ptch2), and glioma-related oncogenes Gli1, Gli2, and Gli3 (all P < 0.05); double immunofluorescence staining showed that CK19-positive cells also expressed OV6 in the liver tissue of rats in the CCl 4 /2-AAF group, with a significant increase compared with the normal group. Compared with the CCl 4 /2-AAF group, the GDC-0449 group had significant reductions in inflammatory cell aggregation and collagen deposition in liver tissue, Hyp level and collagen positive area ratio in liver tissue ( P < 0.05), Ishak score ( P < 0.05), and the expression of α-SMA, Epcam, CK19, CK7, Smo, Ptch2, Gli1, Gli2, and Gli3 (all P < 0.05); double immunofluorescence staining showed a significant reduction in the number of cells with co-expression of OV6 and CK19 in liver tissue. Conclusion The Hedgehog signaling pathway inhibitor GDC-0449 can significantly inhibit the progression of liver fibrosis induced by CCl 4 /2-AAF in rats, possibly by inhibiting hepatic stellate cell activation, collagen deposition, activation and proliferation of hepatic progenitor cells, and differentiation of hepatic progenitor cells into biliary epithelial cells.
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Objective To investigate the molecular mechanism of aristolochic acid Ⅰ (AAⅠ) inducing acute hepatotoxicity in mice. Methods A total of 15 male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal group with 6 mice and treatment group with 9 mice. The mice in the treatment group were given intraperitoneal injection of AAⅠ at a dose of 20 mg/kg for 5 consecutive days and were sacrificed to collect samples on day 6. The serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were measured, and HE staining was used to observe liver histological changes; three liver tissue samples were randomly selected from each group, and RNA was extracted for high-throughput transcriptome sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis and functional prediction were used to screen out differentially expressed genes, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used for validation. The t -test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups. Results Compared with the normal group, the treatment group had significant increases in the activities of ALT and AST ( t =4.331 and 4.947, both P 2 and P < 0.05, among which there were 703 upregulated genes and 649 downregulated genes. The GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of these differentially expressed genes showed significant enrichment in GO terms (such as small molecular catabolism, immune response involving neutrophils, cytoplasmic vesicle lumen in secretory granules, cytoplasmic vesicle lumen, extracellular structural organization, and extracellular matrix) and KEGG pathways (such as chemical carcinogenesis, retinol metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, transcriptional dysregulation in cancer, protein digestion and absorption, regulation of TRP channel by inflammatory mediators, drug metabolism, complement and coagulation cascade, glutathione metabolism, and the PPAR signaling pathway). A cluster analysis ( P < 0.05) showed that significantly downregulated genes included Srd5a1, Lipc, Aqp8, Hba-a1, Slco1a1, and Pklr, which were validated by qRT-PCR (all P < 0.05). Conclusion AA Ⅰ can lead to significant acute hepatotoxicity, which mainly involves the processes such as chemical carcinogenesis, retinol metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and transcriptional dysregulation in cancer.
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Objective To investigate the mechanism of Fuzheng Huayu(FZHY) decoction in the treatment of liver cancer based on network pharmacology. Methods TCMSP, BATMAN, and Drugbank databases were searched for the main chemical components and corresponding targets of FZHY, and STRING database was used to perform a PPI network analysis. Cytoscape software was used to establish a drug-disease network model and perform a network analysis, and R language was used to perform GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of targets. Results A total of 192 intersection genes between FZHY and liver cancer and 95 potential compounds were screened out, among which quercetin and luteolin were the active components with an important regulatory role. INS, IL-6, and EGFR were the key targets for the potential effect of FZHY. The GO enrichment analysis showed the involvement in various biological processes such as response to drug and response to oxygen level, and the KEGG enrichment analysis showed the involvement in the signaling pathways including apoptosis and tumor necrosis factor signaling pathways. Conclusion Based on the method of network pharmacology, this study reveals the mechanism of action of multiple targets and targets of FZHY in the treatment of liver cancer, which provides a theoretical basis for clinical and basic scientific research.
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Objective To investigate the molecular mechanism of aristolochic acid Ⅰ (AAⅠ) inducing acute hepatotoxicity in mice. Methods A total of 15 male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal group with 6 mice and treatment group with 9 mice. The mice in the treatment group were given intraperitoneal injection of AAⅠ at a dose of 20 mg/kg for 5 consecutive days and were sacrificed to collect samples on day 6. The serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were measured, and HE staining was used to observe liver histological changes; three liver tissue samples were randomly selected from each group, and RNA was extracted for high-throughput transcriptome sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis and functional prediction were used to screen out differentially expressed genes, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used for validation. The t -test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups. Results Compared with the normal group, the treatment group had significant increases in the activities of ALT and AST ( t =4.331 and 4.947, both P 2 and P < 0.05, among which there were 703 upregulated genes and 649 downregulated genes. The GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of these differentially expressed genes showed significant enrichment in GO terms (such as small molecular catabolism, immune response involving neutrophils, cytoplasmic vesicle lumen in secretory granules, cytoplasmic vesicle lumen, extracellular structural organization, and extracellular matrix) and KEGG pathways (such as chemical carcinogenesis, retinol metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, transcriptional dysregulation in cancer, protein digestion and absorption, regulation of TRP channel by inflammatory mediators, drug metabolism, complement and coagulation cascade, glutathione metabolism, and the PPAR signaling pathway). A cluster analysis ( P < 0.05) showed that significantly downregulated genes included Srd5a1, Lipc, Aqp8, Hba-a1, Slco1a1, and Pklr, which were validated by qRT-PCR (all P < 0.05). Conclusion AA Ⅰ can lead to significant acute hepatotoxicity, which mainly involves the processes such as chemical carcinogenesis, retinol metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and transcriptional dysregulation in cancer.
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Objective To investigate the mechanism of Fuzheng Huayu(FZHY) decoction in the treatment of liver cancer based on network pharmacology. Methods TCMSP, BATMAN, and Drugbank databases were searched for the main chemical components and corresponding targets of FZHY, and STRING database was used to perform a PPI network analysis. Cytoscape software was used to establish a drug-disease network model and perform a network analysis, and R language was used to perform GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of targets. Results A total of 192 intersection genes between FZHY and liver cancer and 95 potential compounds were screened out, among which quercetin and luteolin were the active components with an important regulatory role. INS, IL-6, and EGFR were the key targets for the potential effect of FZHY. The GO enrichment analysis showed the involvement in various biological processes such as response to drug and response to oxygen level, and the KEGG enrichment analysis showed the involvement in the signaling pathways including apoptosis and tumor necrosis factor signaling pathways. Conclusion Based on the method of network pharmacology, this study reveals the mechanism of action of multiple targets and targets of FZHY in the treatment of liver cancer, which provides a theoretical basis for clinical and basic scientific research.
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Objective@#To observe the therapeutic effect of terlipressin on refractory ascites (RA) in cirrhosis, and its role and impact on acute kidney injury (AKI).@*Methods@#A non-randomized controlled clinical trial data of 111 hospitalized cases of liver cirrhosis accompanied with RA was collected from Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Hubei Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, The First Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Zhejiang University, and People's Hospital of Pudong New Area of Shanghai between March 2015 and March 2017. 26 cases of conventional treatment group (control group) were divided into two subgroups: RA without AKI (RA-NAKI) and RA with AKI (RA-AKI), and each subgroup consisted 13 cases. Patients with bacterial infection were treated with diuretics, albumin supplementation and antibiotics. 85 cases were presented in terlipressin combined treatment group, of which 27 cases were of RA-NAKI and 58 cases were of RA-AKI. Control group was injected terlipressin 1mg of intravenous drip or static push (once q6 h ~ 12 h) for more than 5 days. The treatment duration lasted for 2 weeks with 4 weeks of follow-up. Body weight, 24-hour urine volume, abdominal circumference, mean arterial pressure (MAP), liver and kidney function, anterior hepatic ascites, deepest point of ascites, and ultrasonographic detection of ascites in supine position before treatment, one and two weeks after treatment and 4 weeks after follow-up were compared. Count data were tested by χ 2. Samples of four groups at baseline were compared. One-way analysis of variance was used for normal distribution data and Kruskal-Wallis H test for non-normal distribution data. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare the difference in efficacy between different time points before and after treatment in the group. The LSD method of one-way ANOVA was used to compare the two groups. A t-test of independent samples was used to compare the efficacy of different time series between the two groups. Mann-Whitney rank- sum test was used to compare the data of non-normal distribution between the two groups.@*Results@#(1) Baseline data were compared among 4 subgroups of terlipressin RA-NAKI and control RA-AKI. Control group age was higher than that of terlipressin group, and the serum creatinine (SCr) of the RA-AKI group was higher than RA-NAKI group, and there was no significant difference in the rest of the baseline data and the combined medication (P > 0.05). (2) An intra-group comparison between control and trelipressin before and after treatment showed that all patients had lower body mass, abdominal circumference and deepest ascites, and higher serum albumin (P < 0.05). 24-hour urine volume and MAP was significantly increased in the terlipressin group, while the pre-ascites, SCr and child Turcotte Pugh (CTP) scores were decreased. Body weight, abdominal circumference, pre-ascites, and deepest ascites of the terlipressin group were decreased, while MAP was increased during the treatment and follow-up periods. The differences were statistically significant when compared with the control group at the same time (P < 0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the increase of 24-h urine volume in the terlipressin group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The decrease in SCr and CTP in the terlipressin group after 2 weeks of treatment and 4 weeks of follow-up was statistically significant compared with the control group (P < 0.05). (3) Among the two subgroups of RA-AKI and RA-NAKI in the terlipressin group, the baseline SCr value of the former was higher than that of the latter. After treatment, the body weight, abdominal circumference, pre-ascites, deepest ascites and CTP scores were decreased. In the RA-AKI group, 24-hour urine volume, MAP, SCr and serum albumin concentration were significantly increased. The difference between the two subgroups before and after treatment was compared, and the body weight of RA-AKI group at 1, 2 weeks of treatment and 4 weeks of follow-up was significantly lower than RA-NAKI group, which were (- 2.3 ± 0.2 vs. - 1.5 ± 0.2) kg, (- 4.1 ± 0.2 vs. - 2.6 ± 0.2) kg, (- 4.2 ± 0.3 vs. - 2.4 ± 0.3) kg, respectively. RA-NAKI group urine volume was significantly increased at 2 weeks of treatment and 4 weeks of follow-up, which was (468 ± 42 vs. 110 ± 131) ml, (272 ± 34 ml vs. 11 ± 112) ml, respectively. SCr reduction (18.3 ± 4.7 vs. 0.9 ± 2.4) µmol/l at 4 weeks of follow-up was apparent in RA-NAKI group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05).@*Conclusion@#Addition of terlipressin to conventional treatment may significantly increase MAP, 24-h urine volume, improve renal function and promote ascites resolution in patients with refractory cirrhotic ascites. Moreover, its combination effect is more obvious in AKI patients, and adverse reactions are mild.
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Ascites is the most common clinical symptom in the decompensated stage of patients with liver cirrhosis, and its co-existence in complex conditions, such as refractory ascites, hyponatremia, hepatorenal syndrome and other complications may harm seriously. Splanchnic vasodilation is the key pathological link of cirrhotic ascites-related complications and the treatment of this link can help to eliminate the symptoms of ascites and prevent the further deterioration of decompensated cirrhosis. This paper summaries the pharmacological basis, clinical evidence and application characteristics of a vasocative drugs-terlipressin in the treatment of cirrhotic ascites-related complications, and further analyzes the problems existing in the current research, then proposes a prospect.
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Liver fibrosis is commonly seen in various chronic liver diseases. In history, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical practice based on syndrome differentiation and treatment formed unique experience in the diagnosis and treatment of liver fibrosis; in recent years, studies based on experimental exploration and evidence-based medicine have formed effective Chinese patent drugs and experienced prescriptions for the treatment of liver fibrosis, as well as integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine regimens. With the improvement in the quality of TCM drugs and the development of related clinical studies, new TCM drugs with stable quality and marked clinical effect will be launched for the treatment of liver fibrosis, so as to meet the clinical needs of patients with chronic liver diseases and promote the modern and international development of TCM.
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Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is commonly seen in clinical practice and may bring serious harm to health. It is an important reason for the failure of liver disease treatment and new drug research and development. The clinical diagnosis of DILI remains a difficult issue in the world, and therefore, exploration of related risk signs and initiation of clinical evaluation and prognosis prediction are of great significance for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of DILI.
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Renal fibrosis is a common pathological pathway of chronic kidney diseases that leads to end-stage renal failure. The pathological changes include glomerulosclerosis and renal interstitial fibrosis. Ideal animal models for the study of pathologic mechanisms and drug development of chronic kidney disease are of great significance. At present, the method of establishment of animal models include drug or toxin induction, surgical models and gene knockout, etc. Different animal models have various characteristics of renal function and pathology, but can not completely simulate human chronic kidney disease, suggesting the complexity of chronic kidney diseases. So the preparation and research of the animal models is important for understanding the pathological mechanisms, prevention and treatment of renal fibrosis.
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Liver pathology is the gold standard for the diagnosis of chronic hepatitis.Although there are many effective noninvasive diagnostic methods,liver pathology is still the most direct and reliable method for evaluating inflammation and fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis.The classification system for liver pathology has been also constantly changing,so as to provide more accurate information of grading and staging and to guide clinical and scientific research.This article reviews the development of classification systems for liver pathology,the basic criteria and disadvantages of each major classification system,and the prospects of pathological classification systems for chronic hepatitis.
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Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F. (TWF) belongs to celastraceae under Tripterygium family. It is a traditional Chinese medicine with a variety of pharmacological effects such as anti- inflammatory, analgesic, anti- tumor, immunomodulation and so on, which is applied for many diseases because of its significant effects. However, its toxic and side effects frequently occur, especially liver injury, affecting its safety in clinical practice. In this paper, the clinical characteristics of liver injury of TWF were preliminarily explored by combining with literature analysis and single center clinical epidemiological investigation. Furthermore, the main toxic constituents and mechanism of TWF are reviewed. Finally, the key issues have been raised and analyzed on clinical diagnosis, clinical characteristics and toxicological mechanism of liver injury of TWF, and brought forward the future research directions.
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An ideal animal model of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) plays an important role in the research on physiopathological mechanism and drug research and development.In recent years,great achievements have been made in animal models which can reflect the features of PBC,such as positive serum anti-mitochondrial antibody and immunopathological injury of the bile duct.There are various methods for the preparation of animal models of PBC at present,including chemical or biological exposure and gene knockout.However,these models cannot completely simulate PBC in humans,since they have different serological,immunological,and histopathological features.This suggests the complexity of pathological mechanisms of PBC,including gene specificity and environmental changes and helps us to understand the pathogenesis of events in the early stage of PBC,such as the break of immune tolerance and specific attack of biliary epithelial cells.
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Objective@#To investigate the correlation of liver stiffness measured by FibroTouch (FT) and FibroScan (FS) with Ishak fibrosis score in patients with chronic hepatitis B.@*Methods@#A total of 313 patients with chronic hepatitis B who visited Department of Liver Cirrhosis in Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from November 2014 to May 2016 were enrolled. All the patients underwent liver biopsy, and FT and FS were used to determine liver stiffness measurement (LSM). Serum biochemical parameters were measured, and the aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) in a multi-parameter model of liver fibrosis and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index were calculated. The consistency between the results of four noninvasive examinations and Ishak fibrosis score was compared. The t-test was used for comparison of LSM determined by FT and FS. Pearson correlation analysis was used investigate the correlation between LSM determined by FT and FS; Spearman correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels and Knodell score with LSM determined by FT and FS; the correlation between LSM determined by FT and FS and fibrosis stage was analyzed by partial correlation analysis adjusted by Knodell score for liver inflammatory activity; Spearman correlation analysis was used for APRI, FIB-4, and fibrosis stage. Based on the Ishak fibrosis score, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the values of four noninvasive methods in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis.@*Results@#There was no significant difference in LSM measured by FT and FS in all patients (15.75±9.42 kPa vs 15.42±10.52 kPa, P > 0.05) and Pearson correlation analysis indicated a significant positive correlation between them (r = 0.858, P < 0.01); serum ALT and AST levels and liver inflammatory activity were correlated with LSM determined by FT and FS. There was a significant positive correlation between LSM determined by FT and FS and fibrosis stage (r = 0.501 and 0.526, both P < 0.001), and APRI and FIB-4 were also positively correlated with fibrosis stage (r = 0.236 and 0.218, both P < 0.001). Based on the Ishak fibrosis score, in the diagnosis of fibrosis stages F3, F4, F5, and F6, the areas under the ROC curve were 0.915/0.856/0.839/0.816 for FT, 0.933/0.883/0.849/0.856 for FS, 0.618/0.630/0.608/0.638 for APRI, and 0.614/0.624/0.595/0.649 for FIB-4, and FT and FS had a significantly larger areas under the ROC curve than APRI and FIB-4.@*Conclusion@#LSM determined by FT or FS has a good correlation with the Ishak fibrosis score, so FT and FS have a significantly better diagnostic performance for liver fibrosis than APRI and FIB-4.