Human serum albumin （HSA） is the most abundant protein in plasma and has many biological functions and clinical applications. An adequate and stable supply of functional HSA molecules that are easy to store and have a long half-life is still an unmet clinical need. Therefore， it is extremely necessary to develop alternative methods for large-scale production of HSA. Genetic engineering techniques can clone the HSA gene into microorganism， animal， and plant hosts for efficient expression， which provides new possibilities for the large-scale production of HSA. This article reviews the advances in recombinant HSA （rHSA） in different expression systems and the production of rHSA by xenogeneic animals such as pigs and cattle， in order to draw attention to the application potential of genetic engineering techniques in HSA production and the importance of rHSA in the biomedical field in future.

Primary biliary cholangitis （PBC） is an autoimmune disease characterized by cholestasis of the intrahepatic bile ducts. Anti-mitochondrial antibody （AMA） is currently the key serum marker for the diagnosis of PBC， and however， there are still 5%—10% of patients with PBC who have undetectable AMA in their serum and need liver biopsy to make a confirmed diagnosis. Noninvasive diagnosis remains a challenge in AMA-negative PBC patients. This article reviews the research advances in specific serum markers other than AMA， summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of these serum markers in the diagnosis of AMA-negative PBC， and analyzes the types of new biomarkers that may be used in the noninvasive diagnosis of patients with AMA-negative PBC， in order to provide new ideas for identifying serum markers with higher sensitivities.

Increasing alcohol excise taxes has been confirmed by the World Health Organization as the most cost-effective public policy for reducing alcohol consumption at the population level. In recent years, studies in foreign countries have believed that increasing alcohol excise taxes can improve the burden of alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), but it is still unclear whether this policy is applicable to ALD management in China. Therefore, with reference to related research evidence in China and globally, this article analyzes the key factors influencing the effectiveness of the policy of increasing alcohol excise taxes from the perspective of ALD management in China, including tax shifting, price elasticity of demand, and unrecorded alcohol, and introduces other public policies that help curb ALD. We think that increasing alcohol excise taxes is currently a useful but not effective policy for improving the burden of ALD in China.

Copper plays an important role in many metabolic activities in the human body. Copper level in the human body is in a state of dynamic equilibrium. Recent research on copper metabolism has revealed that copper dyshomeostasis can cause cell damage and induce or aggravate some diseases by affecting oxidative stress, proteasome, cuprotosis, and angiogenesis. The liver plays a central role in copper metabolism in the human body. Research conducted in recent years has unraveled the relationship between copper homeostasis and liver diseases. In this paper, we review the available evidence of the mechanism by which copper dyshomeostasis promotes cell damage and the development of liver diseases, and identify the future research priorities.
Humans ; Copper/metabolism* ; Homeostasis ; Oxidative Stress ; Liver Diseases

Ferroptosis is a newly discovered regulatory cell death induced by the accumulation of iron-dependent lipid peroxides, with the morphological manifestations of decreased mitochondrial volume, increased mitochondrial membrane density, and reduction or disappearance of mitochondria. The mechanism of ferroptosis is mainly associated with disturbance of iron metabolism, imbalance of amino acid antioxidant system, and accumulation of lipid peroxides. Studies have shown that ferroptosis plays different roles in different liver diseases, and ferroptosis can participate in the progression of various liver inflammatory diseases and inhibit the formation of liver fibrosis, the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, and sorafenib resistance. This article summarizes the advances in the mechanism of ferroptosis and its role in liver diseases, so as to provide a reference for further research and treatment of liver diseases.

According to the association between liver injury and pregnancy, liver diseases during pregnancy can be classified as pregnancy-specific liver diseases and liver diseases with pregnancy. Pregnancy-specific liver diseases refer to the liver diseases that only occur during pregnancy, while liver diseases with pregnancy refer to pregnancy with previous liver diseases. Due to the particularity of maternal and fetal health during pregnancy, the diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases during pregnancy is challenging for both obstetricians and hepatologists. Rapid identification, diagnosis, and treatment of related diseases during pregnancy are very important for the prognosis of the mother and the fetus. This article summarizes and reviews the research advances in the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of liver diseases during pregnancy, in order to provide a reference for more clinicians.

Pancreatic cancer is the malignant tumor of the digestive tract with the lowest 5-year survival rate, and current first-line treatment regimens cannot significantly improve the overall prognosis of patients, so it is necessary to explore new treatment methods. A large number of studies have shown that the tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer, such as stromal barrier, immune microenvironment, and exosomes, plays an important role in promoting the proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and chemoradiotherapy resistance of pancreatic cancer cells. This article summarizes the potential targets associated with the tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer and related clinical research advances, in order to provide new ideas for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Statins, as lipid-regulating drugs, have been widely used in the treatment for hyperlipidemia and the primary and secondary prevention of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a serious burden of liver disease in China with poor prognosis, thus effective adjuvant drug used for HCC treatment has attracted much attention. Statins can suppress tumor growth, decrease the risk of tumorigenesis and postoperative recurrence of HCC, extend the survival time and improve the therapeutic effect of other treatment, therefore might increase the benefit obtained by the HCC patients. Statins also can impact the expression of MAPK/ERK signaling pathway, promote the apoptosis of malignant cells and ameliorate the HCC risk of hepatitis B virus infected patients. Statins not only prevents the HCC, but also has part therapeutic effect on the different stage of HCC. Although it can′t replace the operation, radiofrequency ablation, molecular targeted treatment and immunotherapy currently, statins may be a potential adjuvant drug to provide clinical benefit for HCC patients. The advancement of statins application in the prevention and treatment of HCC has attracted more attention recently, however, discussion and controversy also existed about whether it can eventually become an adjuvant therapy for HCC. The purpose of this paper is to summarize and comment on the new development and disputes of statins application in the prevention and treatment of HCC in recent years, to provide help for the future clinical practice.

Statins, as lipid-regulating drugs, have been widely used in the treatment for hyperlipidemia and the primary and secondary prevention of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a serious burden of liver disease in China with poor prognosis, thus effective adjuvant drug used for HCC treatment has attracted much attention. Statins can suppress tumor growth, decrease the risk of tumorigenesis and postoperative recurrence of HCC, extend the survival time and improve the therapeutic effect of other treatment, therefore might increase the benefit obtained by the HCC patients. Statins also can impact the expression of MAPK/ERK signaling pathway, promote the apoptosis of malignant cells and ameliorate the HCC risk of hepatitis B virus infected patients. Statins not only prevents the HCC, but also has part therapeutic effect on the different stage of HCC. Although it can′t replace the operation, radiofrequency ablation, molecular targeted treatment and immunotherapy currently, statins may be a potential adjuvant drug to provide clinical benefit for HCC patients. The advancement of statins application in the prevention and treatment of HCC has attracted more attention recently, however, discussion and controversy also existed about whether it can eventually become an adjuvant therapy for HCC. The purpose of this paper is to summarize and comment on the new development and disputes of statins application in the prevention and treatment of HCC in recent years, to provide help for the future clinical practice.