scholarly journals Disturbances in the Glutathione/Ophthalmate Redox Buffer System in the Woodchuck Model of Hepatitis Virus-Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

HPB Surgery ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Andres Ibarra ◽  
R. Abbas ◽  
R. S. Kombu ◽  
Guo-Fang Zhang ◽  
G. Jacobs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Liver Disease ◽  
Liver Tumors ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
Tumor Development ◽  
Buffer System ◽  
Early Tumor ◽  
End Stage ◽  
Redox Buffer

Purpose. The incidence of liver tumors is rising in USA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate liver oxido-reductive status in the presence of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods. Glutathione species and ophthalmate (OA) concentrations were measured by LC-MS in processed plasma and red blood cells (RBC) from infected Woodchuck with hepatitis virus (WHV). Blood samples were obtained from: (i) infected animals with tumors (WHV+/HCC+), (ii) infected animals without tumors (WHV+/HCC−) and (iii) healthy animals (WHC−/HCC−). Results. The concentration of reduced glutathione (GSH) and the ratio GSH/GSG were lower in plasma from WHV+/HCC+ animals when compared to WHV+/HCC− and WHV−/HCC− (P<0.01). In contrast, the concentration of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) was found to be higher in plasma from WHV+/HCC+ animals when compared to WHV+/HCC− and WHV−/HCC− (P<0.01). The Glutathione species and its ratio from the RBC compartment were similar among all groups. OA concentration in both plasma and RBC was significantly higher from WHV+/HCC+ when compared to WHV+/HCC− and WHV−/HCC− (P<0.01). Conclusions. Disturbances of the glutathione redox buffer system and higher concentrations of OA were found in the WCV+/HCC+ animal model. The role of these compounds as biomarkers of early tumor development in patients with end stage liver disease remains to be determined.

scholarly journals The Role of Bridging Therapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Galuppo ◽  
Angie McCall ◽  
Roberto Gedaly
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Liver Transplantation ◽  
Liver Disease ◽  
Bridging Therapy ◽  
Primary Malignancy ◽  
Single Center Experience ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Control Tumor ◽  
End Stage

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of the liver accounting for 7% of all cancers worldwide. Most cases of HCC develop within an established background of chronic liver disease. For that reason, liver resection is only possible in selected patients. Liver transplantation has become the treatment of choice in patients with HCC, end-stage liver disease, and significant portal hypertension. Shortage of organ donors has resulted in overall increase of waiting list time with increased risk of dropout due to tumor progression. Neoadjuvant therapies have emerged as an alternative to control tumor growth in patients while waiting. The aim of this study is to review the literature on the role of bridging therapy and downstaging prior to liver transplantation in patients with HCC. We are also presenting our single-center experience of 96 patients undergoing transplantation for HCC with and without bridging therapy.

scholarly journals Inflammatory Mechanisms Underlying Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis and the Transition to Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 730
Author(s):  
Moritz Peiseler ◽  
Frank Tacke
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Liver Disease ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis ◽  
Adaptive Immune System ◽  
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver ◽  
Inflammatory Processes ◽  
New Treatment ◽  
End Stage

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a rising chronic liver disease and comprises a spectrum from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) to end-stage cirrhosis and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The pathogenesis of NAFLD is multifactorial, but inflammation is considered the key element of disease progression. The liver harbors an abundance of resident immune cells, that in concert with recruited immune cells, orchestrate steatohepatitis. While inflammatory processes drive fibrosis and disease progression in NASH, fueling the ground for HCC development, immunity also exerts antitumor activities. Furthermore, immunotherapy is a promising new treatment of HCC, warranting a more detailed understanding of inflammatory mechanisms underlying the progression of NASH and transition to HCC. Novel methodologies such as single-cell sequencing, genetic fate mapping, and intravital microscopy have unraveled complex mechanisms behind immune-mediated liver injury. In this review, we highlight some of the emerging paradigms, including macrophage heterogeneity, contributions of nonclassical immune cells, the role of the adaptive immune system, interorgan crosstalk with adipose tissue and gut microbiota. Furthermore, we summarize recent advances in preclinical and clinical studies aimed at modulating the inflammatory cascade and discuss how these novel therapeutic avenues may help in preventing or combating NAFLD-associated HCC.

scholarly journals Role of autophagy in the pathogenesis of liver diseases

2011 ◽  
Vol 152 (49) ◽  
pp. 1955-1961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klára Werling
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Liver Disease ◽  
Liver Diseases ◽  
Liver Tumors ◽  
Liver Steatosis ◽  
Prognostic Significance ◽  
Adenosine Monophosphate ◽  
Mutant Proteins ◽  
Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency

Autophagy is a self-digestion process that plays an important role in the development, differentiation and homeostasis of cells, helping their survival during starvation and hypoxia. Accumulated mutant proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum can be degraded by autophagy in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Hepatitis C and B virus may exploit the autophagy pathway to escape the innate immune response and to promote their own replication. Autophagy is decreased in response to chronic alcohol consumption, likely due to a decrease in 5’-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, increase in mTOR activity and due to an alteration in vesicle transport in hepatocytes. In obesity and alcoholic liver disease the decreased function of autophagy causes formation of Mallory-Denk bodies and cell death. The deficient autophagy can contribute to liver steatosis, to endoplasmic reticulum stress, and to progression of liver disease. Autophagy defect in hepatocellular carcinoma suggests that it can serve a tumor-suppressor function. The autophagy protein Beclin-1 levels have prognostic significance in liver tumors. Understanding of the molecular mechanism and the role of autophagy may lead to more effective therapeutic strategies in liver diseases in the future. Orv. Hetil., 2011, 152, 1955–1961.

The interplay between gut microbiota and the immune system in liver transplant recipients and its role in infections

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Ancona ◽  
Laura Alagna ◽  
Andrea Lombardi ◽  
Emanuele Palomba ◽  
Valeria Castelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Liver Disease ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Liver Transplant ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Transplant Recipients ◽  
Liver Transplant Recipients

Liver transplantation (LT) is a life-saving strategy for patients with end-stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma and acute liver failure. LT success can be hampered by several short-term and long-term complications. Among them, bacterial infections, especially due to multidrug-resistant germs, are particularly frequent with a prevalence between 19 and 33% in the first 100 days after transplantation. In the last decades, a number of studies have highlighted how gut microbiota (GM) is involved in several essential functions to ensure the intestinal homeostasis, becoming one of the most important virtual metabolic organs. GM works through different axes with other organs, and the gut-liver axis is among the most relevant and investigated ones. Any alteration or disruption of GM is defined as dysbiosis. Peculiar phenotypes of GM dysbiosis have been associated to several liver conditions and complications, such as chronic hepatitis, fatty liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Moreover, there is growing evidence of the crucial role of GM in shaping the immune response, both locally and systemically, against pathogens. This paves the way to the manipulation of GM as a therapeutic instrument to modulate the infectious risk and outcome. In this minireview we provide an overview of the current understanding on the interplay between gut microbiota and the immune system in liver transplant recipients and the role of the former in infections.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document