Background::Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a severe liver disease with complex pathogenesis. Clinical hypoglycemia is common in patients with ACLF and often predicts a worse prognosis. Accumulating evidence suggests that glucose metabolic disturbance, especially gluconeogenesis dysfunction, plays a critical role in the disease progression of ACLF. Lon protease-1 (LONP1) is a novel mediator of energy and glucose metabolism. However, whether gluconeogenesis is a potential mechanism through which LONP1 modulates ACLF remains unknown.Methods::In this study, we collected liver tissues from ACLF patients, established an ACLF mouse model with carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and D-galactose (D-gal), and constructed an in vitro hypoxia and hyperammonemia-triggered hepatocyte injury model. LONP1 overexpression and knockdown adenovirus were used to assess the protective effect of LONP1 on liver injury and gluconeogenesis regulation. Liver histopathology, biochemical index, mitochondrial morphology, cell viability and apoptosis, and the expression and activity of key gluconeogenic enzymes were detected to explore the underlying protective mechanisms of LONP1 in ACLF. Results::We found that LONP1 and the expressions of gluconeogenic enzymes were downregulated in clinical ACLF liver tissues. Furthermore, LONP1 overexpression remarkably attenuated liver injury, which was characterized by improved liver histopathological lesions and decreased serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in ACLF mice. Moreover, mitochondrial morphology was improved upon overexpression of LONP1. Meanwhile, the expression and activity of the key gluconeogenic enzymes were restored by LONP1 overexpression. Similarly, the hepatoprotective effect was also observed in the hepatocyte injury model, as evidenced by improved cell viability, reduced cell apoptosis, and improved gluconeogenesis level and activity, while LONP1 knockdown worsened liver injury and gluconeogenesis disorders.Conclusion::We demonstrated that gluconeogenesis dysfunction exists in ACLF, and LONP1 could ameliorate liver injury and improve gluconeogenic dysfunction, which would provide a promising therapeutic target for patients with ACLF.

Objective:To study the impact and the mechanism of splenectomy combined with pericardial devascularization on cirrhotic livers.Methods:Serum samples and clinical data were collected preoperatively and postoperatively from 54 patients with cirrhosis who underwent splenectomy combined with pericardial devascularization from May 2013 to Oct 2014 at Beijing You’an Hospital, Capital Medical University. Changes in hepatic arterial and portal venous blood flow, liver function and fibroscan results were analyzed. The levels of nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 (ET-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1) were measured.Results:There were 31 males and 23 females, aged(45.48±10.21)years. Free portal vein pressure decreased significantly from (37.0±7.1) cmH 2O (1 cmH 2O=0.098 kPa) to (26.1±5.7) cmH 2O after surgery ( P<0.05). Significant increases in postoperative lumen diameter (4.0±1.0) mm vs (3.1±0.7) mm were observed, accompanied by increase in peak flow velocity and blood flow of the hepatic artery. Significant deductions in lumen diameter (11.9±2.0) mm vs (13.1±1.9) mm, accompanied by reduction of peak flow velocity and blood flow of the portal vein were observed following surgery (all P<0.05). The NO level was significantly elevated immediately after splenectomy and was subsequently remained at high levels. The ET-1 level decreased 2 days after surgery and became fluctuated at low levels. The IL-6 and HGF levels increased significantly 2 days after surgery and decreased gradually after 7 days and 1 month, respectively. The TGF-β1 and the MMP1 levels increased after surgery. The endotoxin level decreased significantly after surgery (all P<0.05). Conclusion:Splenectomy combined with pericardial devascularization induced hepatic blood flow restoration, hepatocyte regeneration and reversal of fibrosis in cirrhotic livers. Splenectomy has a protective effect on cirrhotic liver when combined with pericardial devascularization.

Objective:To investigate the safety and efficacy of combining programmed death-1 (PD-1) with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) before liver transplantation(LT).Methods:The data of six males with a mean ± s. d. age of (57.5±4.3) years who were treated with PD-1 inhibitors combined with TKIs for advanced HCC before LT at Beijing You'an Hospital, Capital Medical University and the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital were retrospectively analysed. The tumor stagings, the use of PD-1 inhibitors and TKIs with their discontinuation in pre-LT/post-LT liver function recovery durations, incidences of complication. The tumor recurrence and disease-free survival rates were determined on follow-up of these patients at outpatients clinics.Results:For the 6 patients included in this study, four patients were classified by the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Staging (BCLC) as C and the China Liver Cancer Staging (CNLC) as Ⅲa, and two patients were classified by the BCLC staging as B and the CNLC asⅡb. The mean cycle of PD-1 inhibitor used was 5.5 (1-20), and the mean duration of PD-1 inhibitor discontinuation was 19.5 (12-45) days pre-LT. All patients who were treated with PD-1 inhibitors combined with TKIs reached the liver transplantation standard, and all successfully underwent orthotopic liver transplantation. The liver function recovered well without any serious complications post-LT. All the patients survived without developing any acute rejection or other complications. The follow-up time ranged from 8.2 to 27.3 months, with a median of 11.9 months. No patients had died, and 2 patients developed tumor recurrence. The median (range) tumor-free survival time was 10.9 (2.9-27.3) months.Conclusion:Patients with advanced HCC could benefit from combined PD-1 inhibitors with TKIs therapy pre-LT. There were no increased incidences of acute rejection and other complications post-LT.

Objective To evaluate the safety of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor in the treatment of primary liver cancer (liver cancer) before liver transplantation. Methods Clinical data of 7 recipients given with PD-1 inhibitor before liver transplantation for liver cancer were retrospectively analyzed. The incidence of immune-related adverse event (irAE) and clinical prognosis of the recipients were summarized. The safety of PD-1 inhibitor in recipients prior to liver transplantation for liver cancer was evaluated. Results Seven recipients were treated with PD-1 inhibitor with 1-20 courses before liver transplantation for liver cancer. The time interval from drug withdrawal to liver transplantation was 6-120 d. Five recipients suffered from irAE of different degrees, including fatigue in 3 cases, fever in 2 cases, alopecia in 2 cases, rash in 1 case, nausea in 1 case and myocarditis in 1 case, respectively. A majority of these irAE were classified as grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ. One recipient died from grade Ⅴ irAE (fatal myocarditis). One recipient developed rejection at postoperative 7 d, which were mitigated after glucocorticoid pulse therapy combined with increased dosage of tacrolimus. Conclusions PD-1 inhibitor can be applied in preoperative treatment before liver transplantation for liver cancer. Nevertheless, the incidence of irAE and postoperative rejection should be intimately monitored.

Objective:The study aimed to study the efficacy and safety of combined dual therapy using anti-programmed death (PD)-1 and tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with combined triple therapy using anti-PD-1, TKI and locoregional intervention triple therapy in patients with postoperative refractory recurrent liver cancer.Methods:Patients with postoperative refractory recurrent liver cancer who had undergone either anti-PD-1 and TKI dual therapy or anti-PD-1, TKI and locoregional intervention triple therapy between July 2016 and March 2019 at the First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital were retrospectively studied. Tumor responses were assessed by the modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors and overall survival and progression free survival were compared. Adverse events were evaluated according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events.Results:Of 63 patients who were included in this study, there were 25 patients in the dual therapy group (16 males and 9 females, aged 54.3±8.8 years) and 38 patients in the triple therapy group (31 males and 7 females, aged 55.5±8.4 years). The 1-year survival rate of the triple therapy group was significantly higher than the dual therapy group (94.5%vs 54.9%) ( P<0.01). The disease control rate was 64.0% (16/25) in the dual therapy group and 84.2% (32/38) in the triple therapy group, and the difference was not significant ( P>0.05). The incidence of treatment-related adverse events in the triple therapy group and the dual therapy group were 78.9% (30/38) and 80% (20/25), respectively. There was no treatment-related death in the 2 groups. Conclusions:Anti-PD-1 and TKI dual therapy and anti-PD-1, TKI and locoregional intervention triple therapy were effective and tolerable treatments for postoperative refractory recurrent liver cancer. The latter treatment had a significantly better clinical benefit on survival outcomes.

Objective:To explore the anti-epidemic preventions and perioperative management strategies of organ donation and liver transplantation during the pandemic period of novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) and summarize the experiences.Methods:On the basis of guidance of National Health Commission and Organ Transplantation Committee of Chinese Medical Association, anti-epidemic preventions and perioperative management strategies of organ donation and liver transplantation were adjusted under the background of NCP pandemic and the anti-epidemic preventions and treatment outcomes were evaluated. Eight organ donations and 7 liver transplantations were performed from February 4 to March 7, 2020. NCP infection screening results were negative in all pre-donation and pre-transplantation cases.Results:All donation operations and liver transplantations were successfully performed without postoperative complications. No NCP occurred during hospitalization period. Postoperative pulmonary infection occurred in 1 case (1/7) and the following novel coronavirus screening result was negative. Pulmonary inflammation became partially absorbed after antibacterial therapy.Conclusions:Through strict and effective anti-epidemic preventions and perioperative managements, organ donation and transplantation could be successfully performed during the pandemic period of NCP.

Objective:To investigate the effect and mechanism of silent information regulator 6 (SIRT6) and gluconeogenesis-dependent rate-limiting enzymes in hepatocytes in oxidative stress injury rats and chronic-on-acute (sub-acute) liver failure (ACLF) patients.Methods:From August 2016 to May 2018, 10 patients with ACLF from Beijing Youan Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University were included in the ACLF group, and 10 normal donors were included in the normal control group. Level of fasting blood glucose, total bilirubin, albumin, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were studied. Sprague Dawley rat hepatocytes were isolated and divided into control group (without any intervention), model group (H 2O 2 intervention for 6 h), mammalian rapamycin target protein (mTOR) activation group (mTOR activation was added to the model group), mTOR inhibition group (mTOR inhibitor was added on the basis of the model group). Protein electrophoresis and polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the relative expression of glucose-6-phosphatase (G6P), phosphoenolpyruvate (PEPCK), SIRT6, and mTOR. Results:The ALT and total bilirubin level in ACLF group were significantly higher than those in the normal control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). In ACLF group, level of SIRT6 (0.15±0.07) μg/L and fasting blood glucose (3.19±0.59) mmol/L were significantly lower than those in the normal control group (0.46±0.15) μg/L and (7.07±2.07) mmol/L, the difference was statistically significant (all P<0.05). The relative expression of PEPCK and G6P protein in liver tissue of ACLF group was significantly lower than that of normal control group. The relative expression of SIRT6, PEPCK, and G6P in the model group were lower than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). When mTOR is activated, the relative expression of PEPCK, G6P, and SIRT6 was higher than those in the model group, and after mTOR inhibition, the relative expression of PEPCK, G6P, and SIRT6 was lower than in the model group. Conclusion:ACLF, SIRT6 may inhibit gluconeogenesis, and increased the occurrence of hypoglycemia through activating mTOR signaling pathway. Blocking of SIRT6 levels may slow down the progress of ACLF.

Objective To investigate the correlations between expression of CASC2 and hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) prognosis.Methods A total of 129 patients including 80 males and 49 females with HCC were includedin this study,ranging from 21 to 73 years in Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University and Beijing You'an Hospital were retrospectively analyzed from September 2007 to January 2014.Expression of CASC2 was assessed using reverse transcription quantitative-polymerase chain reaction in HCC tissue and the adjacent normal tissue.The correlations between CASC2 mRNA level and clinicopathological parameters was investigated.The relationship between the expression of CASC2 and the prognosis of patients with HCC was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method.A log-rank analysis was performed to identify group differences.Univariate and multivariate Cox analysis were used to analyze the variables affecting the patient's prognosis.Results In 129 HCC samples,the level of CASC2 expression (0.84 ± 0.05) was lower than (3.35 ± 0.11) adjacent normal tissue (P ＜ 0.05).There were significant differences between CASC2 expression and tumor size,histological differentiation,and tumor stage in 129 HCC speciments.The median expression level of CACS2 in HCC tissues,0.84-fold,was used as the cut-off value to divide the 129 patients into two groups:low-expression group (n =72) and high-expression group (n =57).Overall survival rate of HCC patients with high CACS2 expression was significantly higher than those of patients with low CACS2 expression(P ＜0.05).Multivariate analysis indicated that histological differentiation (HR =0.20,95％ CI:0.05 ～ 0.59),tumor stage (HR =1.71,95％ CI:1.02 ～ 2.99) and CACS2 expression (HR =O.51,95％ CI:O.08 ～0.92) were an independent predictor of overall survival.Conclusion Low expression of CACS2 might be associated with the occurrence and development of HCC.

Objective To summarize the preliminary clinical outcomes of combination therapy with molecular targeted agents/immunological agents and to explore the potential value of multidisciplinary therapy in the treatment of postoperative refractory recurrent hepatobiliary tumor.Methods 52 cases of postoperative refractory recurrent hepatobiliary tumor during June 2016 to January 2019 from outpatient and inpatient departments at the First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital were prospectively collected,including 37 males and 15 females,with a mean age of (56.2 ± 8.5) years.Referring to the results of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and other-omics,we designed individualized therapy options for each patient.Follow-ups were done regularly and tumor responses were assessed by modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (mRECIST).Results Of 52 patients,median follow-up was 10 months (range 3-31 months).14 (26.9％) patients achieved a complete response (CR).8 (15.3％) patients achieved a partial response (PR).14 (26.9％) patients had stable disease (SD).16 (30.8％,including 4 deaths) had progressive disease (PD).Objective response rate and disease control rate were 42.3％ (22/52) and 69.2％ (36/52),respectively.The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7 months.6-and 12-month overall survival rates were 100％ (48/48),87.5％ (21/24),respectively.Conclusions Precision medicine has good guidance on the treatment of refractory recurrence of hepatobiliary tumors.The combination therapy of multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors may achieve better disease control and deserve further promotion in clinical application.

Objective To study the impact of splenectomy and esophagogastric devascularization on the nutritional status of patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension.Methods Sixty consecutive patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension who underwent splenectomy and esophagogastric devascularization at the Beijing YouAn Hospital from April 5,2015 to January 23,2017 were included in this study.The body mass index (BMI),albumin (Alb),prealbumin (PA) and lymphocyte counts were prospectively collected at the end of 1-week,1-month,3-month,6-month and 1-year after surgery.The postoperative results were compared with the preoperative results in these patients.Results The BMI results obtained at 1-week and 1-month after surgery were significantly lower than the preoperative level [(22.14 ± 3.08)kg/m2 vs.(22.85 ± 3.14) kg/m2,(21.72 ± 3.05) kg/m2 vs.(22.86 ± 3.16) kg/m2,P ＜ 0.05].The BMI result at the end of 1-year after surgery was significantly elevated when compared with the preoperative level [(23.24 ± 3.64) kg/m2 vs.(22.68 ± 3.47) kg/m2,P ＜ 0.05].The ALB levels at 1-month and 3-month after surgery were significantly higher than the preoperative level [(39.87 ± 4.22)g/L vs.(35.35 ±5.15) g/L,(39.35 ± 4.75) g/L vs.(34.82 ± 5.50) g/L,P ＜ 0.05].The PA obtained at 1-week after surgery was significantly lower than the preoperative levels [(79.59 26.52)mg/L vs.(121.77 ±39.96)mg/L,P ＜ 0.05].The lymphocyte counts at all the points after surgery were significantly higher than the preoperative level (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Short term and long term nutritional status improved in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension after splenectomy and esophagogastric devascularization.