Cholestasis ; Humans ; Liver Diseases

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor with the second highest mortality rate in China, and annual deaths account for 51% of all deaths in the world.HCC brings heavy burdens to the society and medical care in China.Early diagnosis is one of the most important methods for preventing HCC and improving survival rate of HCC patients, and the development of simple, convenient, and quick diagnostic methods is a direction for current research.Methods for the early diagnosis of HCC mainly include imaging diagnosis and measurements of protein markers and molecular markers.Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has an important value in the early diagnosis of HCC.OneStep AFP test helps the patients to measure AFP at home by themselves and realize the regular monitoring of AFP level, which supports the early diagnosis of HCC and creates a new approach for early screening and diagnosis of HCC.

Biomarkers ; blood ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; diagnosis ; Models, Biological

Acid-related disorders are commonly seen diseases of upper digestive tract which are closely related to acid attack.Antacids and acid inhibitors are the main drugs in the therapy of acid-related disorders.There are complex interrelationships between antacids and acid inhibitors and other drugs.This article reviewed the application and evaluation of antacids and acid inhibitors in acid-related disorders.

Liver cirrhosis is the end stage of various chronic liver diseases.Early diagnosis and staging of liver cirrhosis,as well as effective disease assessment,are of great clinical significance.The application of liver biopsy,serological testing,and radiological examination in the clinical diagnosis of liver cirrhosis and the research advances in evaluation of liver reserve function,complications,and prognosis are re-viewed.It is pointed out that with the development of molecular biological and imaging techniques,the accuracy and specificity of noninva-sive diagnosis will be increased,and the disease assessment system will be improved.

Recently,the relationship between intestinal dysbacteriosis and chronic liver disease has received much attention. The imbalance of intestinal flora microecology,such as overgrowth of gram negative bacteria,leads to intestinal endotoxemia,and endotoxemia plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease. This article reviewed the advances in study on relationship between enterohepatic circulation and chronic liver disease.

Recent studies have shown that complications of cirrhotic portal hypertension often involve multiple organs,which is called multiple organ dysfunction syndrome by some scholars.When muhiple organ failure occurs,there is a significant increase in patients'short-term death rate,and death rate is associated with the number of organs involved.This article briefly describes the physiopothologic mechanisms of portal hypertension and visceral vasodilation and summarizes the pathological changes of vital organs including the heart,lung,kidney,brain,and liver and related pathogenesis.At present,liver transplantation remains the most effective therapy,but it still has some shortcomings.It is pointed out that further studies are needed to investigate the mechanisms of action of each link in disease development,and more targets are needed in the future to prevent and treat multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)is a clinical syndrome characterized by hepatic fat deposition, and not caused by chronic heavy drinking and other liver damage factors. The pathogenesis of NAFLD is associated with environmental,genetic,immune and other various factors. Early diagnosis is helpful not only for distinguishing between simple non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL)and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH),but also for grading the extent of NAFLD lesion and delaying its further development. This article reviewed the clinical research progress of non-invasive diagnosis and evaluation of NAFLD.

The liver has a strong regenerative capacity,and in case of acute injury,the proliferation of mature hepatocytes helps to complete liver regeneration.However,in case of chronic injury,the proliferative capacity of mature hepatocytes is damaged or exhausted,and the activation,proliferation,and differentiation of hepatic progenitor cells are involved in liver regeneration.This article summarizes the characteristics and origins of hepatic progenitor cells,their role in tissue repair after liver injury and development of liver cancer,and potentials and problems of cell transplantation in the treatment of liver diseases.It is pointed out that an understanding of the biological characteristics of hepatic progenitor cells,their role in liver injury and liver cancer,and related pathogenesis helps with the treatment of liver diseases.

Objective To establish the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) model in SD rats and to investigate if endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS) plays a role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD. Methods A total of 36 male SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: normal control group 1(N1,n=8), normal control group 2 (N2,n=8), model group 1(M1,n=10) and model group 2(M2,n=10). The two control groups were fed with normal diets, whereas the two model groups were provided diets enriched in fat (10% lard oil and 2% cholesterol). The rats in N1 and M1 groups were sacrificed at the 12th week, and those in N2 and M2 groups were sacrificed at the 20th week. The serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase(AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total protein (TP), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured. The steatosis, immflamation and fibrosis of the liver were observed with HE and Masson staining. The expressions of GRP78, CHOP and procaspase-12 mRNA were tested using real-time PCR and the activation of procaspase-12 protein was detected by Western blot. Results At the 12th week, the liver index and the serum levels of ALT, AST,ALP,TP,TC,LDL in M1 group were significantly higher than those in N1 group (P<0.01), but HDL level was significantly lower in M1 group than that in N1 group (P<0.01). At the 20th week, the concentrations of TC and LDL in M2 group were significantly increased in comparison with N2 group. The histochemical study revealed that the hepatic steatosis and inflammation in M1 and M2 groups were more serious than those in N1 and N2 goups(P<0.01). The slight fibrosis was seen in M2 group. At the 12th and 20th weeks, the expressions of GRP78,CHOP and procaspase-12 mRNA and protein in M1 and M2 groups did not differ in N1 and N2 groups. Conclusions The fat-rich diet might successfully induce NAFLD in rats and there is no ERS observed in the study, which suggests that ERS may not be involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.