1.Role of immune response and inflammatory injury in the pathogenesis of liver failure
Tingshuai WANG ; Na WANG ; Rongzhen ZHANG ; Minggang WANG ; Shaodong HUANG ; Yuzhen MA ; Cong WU ; Dewen MAO
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2020;36(6):1415-1419
Liver failure is a syndrome of severe liver diseases commonly seen in clinical practice, and it has a high mortality rate and thus becomes one of the critical diseases in internal medicine. Massive hepatocyte death and the extent of hepatocyte death exceeding the liver’s regenerative capacity are considered the core events in the development and progression of liver failure, and direct injury and immune-mediated inflammatory injury are the two main factors in this process. An increasing number of evidence has shown that host immune response and inflammatory cascade play an important role in the pathogenesis of liver failure. This article reviews the mechanism of action of immunoregulation (congenital and adaptive) and inflammatory injury (inflammation inducers, receptor cells, and inflammatory mediators) in the process of hepatic failure, as well as the interactions between immune response and immune cells and between inflammatory response and inflammatory factors, in order to help understand the pathogenesis of liver failure and provide new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of liver failure and drug research and development.
2.Expression mechanism and clinical significance of absent in melanoma 2 in liver diseases
Yingyu LE ; Rongzhen ZHANG ; Tingshuai WANG ; Ningfang CHEN ; Dewen MAO
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2021;37(10):2488-2492
Absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) is a cytoplasmic double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) sensing protein that can recognize the dsDNA released during cell disturbance and pathogen invasion and trigger the activation of inflammasome cascade. Activation of inflammasomes leads to the maturation and release of inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β and interleukin-18), induces pyroptosis, and initiate innate immune response. Among these inflammasomes, AIM2 and its mechanism of action and clinical significance in liver diseases has become a research hotspot at present. This article summarizes and discusses the importance of AIM2 in the pathogenesis of various liver diseases including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, hepatitis B virus infection, liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, so as to provide new ideas and a reference for clinical treatment.
3.Effect of diet-gut microbiota axis on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Shenglan ZENG ; Rongzhen ZHANG ; Na WANG ; Tingshuai WANG ; Liting TAN ; Dewen MAO
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2021;37(11):2676-2679
The incidence rate of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing. Diet is considered one of the main driving forces regulating the composition of intestinal microbiota, and the intestine and the liver are closely linked through the portal vein, so changes in gut microbiota may affect liver function and promote inflammation, insulin resistance, and steatosis, thereby causing NAFLD. This article elaborates on the relationship between diet, gut microbiota, and the liver and the research advances in how this axis promotes the progression of NAFLD, as well as the change in potential mechanism due to intestinal dysbacteriosis and related treatment methods.