Objective: To explore the associations between blood pressure trajectories during pregnancy and risk of future pre-eclampsia in a large cohort enrolling pregnant women at gestational age of ~12 weeks from community hospitals in Tianjin. Latent class growth modeling (LCGM) was used to model the blood pressure trajectories. Methods: This was a large prospective cohort study. The study enrolled pregnant women of ~12 weeks of gestation in 19 community hospitals in Tianjin from November 1, 2016 to May 30, 2018. We obtained related information during 5 antepartum examinations before gestational week 28, i.e., week 12, week 16, week 20, week 24 and week 28. LCGM was used to model longitudinal systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) trajectories. For the association study, the predictors were set as SBP and DBP trajectory membership (built separately), the outcome was defined as the occurrence of preeclampsia after 28 weeks of gestation. Results: A total of 5 809 cases with known pregnant outcomes were documented. After excluding 249 cases per exclusion criteria, 5 560 cases with singleton pregnancy were included for final analysis. There were 128 cases preeclampsia and 106 cases gestational hypertension in this cohort. Univariate logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression showed the higher baseline SBP level and DBP level were related with increased risk of preeclampsia. Four distinctive SBP trajectories and DBP trajectories from 12 weeks to 28 weeks of gestation were identified by LCGM. After controlling for potential confounders (baseline BMI, being primipara or not, white blood cell counts, hemoglobin level, platelet counts and alanine aminotransferase level), the OR for SBP latent classification trajectory_ 4 was 4.023 (95%CI: 2.368 to 6.835, P<0.001), and the OR for SBP latent classification trajectory_3 was 1.854 (95%CI: 1.223 to 2.811, P=0.004). Logistic regression showed that: using the DBP latent classification trajectory_1 as the reference group, the OR for DBP latent classification trajectory_4 was 4.100 (95%CI: 2.571 to 6.538, P<0.001), and 2.632 (95%CI: 1.570 to 4.414, P<0.001) for DBP latent classification trajectory_2. After controlling for potential confounders (baseline BMI, being primipara or not, white blood cell counts, hemoglobin level, platelet counts and alanine aminotransferase level), the OR for DBP_traj_4 was 2.527 (95%CI: 1.534 to 4.162, P<0.001), and the OR for DBP_traj_3 was 1.297 (95%CI: 0.790 to 2.128, P=0.303), and 2.238 (95%CI: 1.328 to 3.772, P=0.002) for DBP_traj_2. Therefore, BP trajectories from 12 weeks to 28 weeks identified by LCGM served as novel risk factors that independently associated with the occurrence of preeclampsia. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed incremental diagnostic performance by combing baseline blood pressure levels with blood pressure trajectories. Conclusion: By applying LCGM, we for the first time identified distinctive BP trajectories from gestational week 12 to 28, which can independently predict the development of preeclampsia after 28 weeks of gestation.
Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Infant ; Blood Pressure ; Pre-Eclampsia/diagnosis* ; Prospective Studies ; Gestational Age ; Alanine Transaminase ; Hemoglobins

The saponins in different parts of Gynostemma pentaphyllum were analyzed via UPLC-Q-TOF-MS~E. A total of 46 saponins were identified, and the underground part had 26 saponins more than the aboveground part, most of which were trisaccharide saponins. The rat model of hyperlipidemia was established with high-fat diet. This study explored the lipid-lowering activity of total saponins in the underground part of G. pentaphyllum, so as to provide a theoretical basis for the comprehensive utilization of the underground part of G. pentaphyllum. A total of 99 healthy SD rats were randomly assigned into a blank group, a model group, a positive drug group, an aboveground total saponins group, and low-, medium-, and high-dose underground total saponins groups. Except the blank group, the other groups were fed with high-fat diet for 6 weeks. Then, the blood was collected from the orbital cavity to determine whether the modeling was successful according to the serum levels of total cholesterol(TC) and triglyceride(TG). After intragastric administration of the corresponding agents for 30 continuous days, the physical state of the rats were observed, and the body weight and liver specific gravity were measured. Furthermore, the levels of TC, TG, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), alanine transaminase(ALT), aspartate transaminase(AST), bilirubin, and total bile acids in serum, as well as the levels of superoxide dismutase(SOD), malondialdehyde(MDA), peroxidase proliferator-activated receptor(PPAR-γ) in the liver tissue, were determined. The pathological changes of liver was observed via HE staining. The results showed that the aboveground total saponins and medium-and high-dose underground total saponins can treat hepatocyte steatosis, lower TC, TG, LDL-C, ALT, AST, total bilirubin, MDA, and PPAR-γ levels, and increase HDL-C and SOD levels in the model rats. The effect tended to be more obvious with the increase in dosage. Therefore, the total saponins in the underground part of G. pentaphyllum have good pharmacological effect of reducing blood lipid, which provides a theoretical basis for the comprehensive utilization of the underground part of G. pentaphyllum.
Alanine Transaminase/analysis* ; Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases/analysis* ; Bile Acids and Salts/blood* ; Bilirubin/blood* ; Cholesterol, LDL/blood* ; Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects* ; Gynostemma/chemistry* ; Hypolipidemic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Lipoproteins, HDL/blood* ; Liver/metabolism* ; Malondialdehyde/analysis* ; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors/analysis* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Saponins/therapeutic use* ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Triglycerides/blood* ; Trisaccharides/therapeutic use*

This study aims to investigate the efficacy of forsythiaside A(FTA) against CCl_4-induced liver fibrosis and the mechanism. Specifically, activities of serum alanine/aspartate aminotransferase(ALT/AST) and hydroxyproline(HYP) level in liver were detected, and pathological morphology of liver was observed based on hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining, Masson's trichrome staining, and Sirius red staining of liver. On this basis, the effect of FTA on liver fibrosis was evaluated. The mRNA expression of actin alpha 2/α-smooth muscle actin(Acta2/α-SMA), transforming growth factor β(Tgfβ), collagen Ⅰ alpha 1(Col1 a1), and collagen Ⅲ alpha 1(Col3 a1) in liver tissue and hepatic stellate cells(HSC) was determined by qPCR, and the protein expression of α-SMA in liver tissue and HSC was measured by Western blot to assess the inhibition of FTA on HSC activation. The protein expression of α-SMA, vi-mentin(Vim), vascular endothelial cadherin(Ve-cadherin), and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1(PECAM-1/CD31) was measured by Western blot to evaluate the reverse of endothelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT) by FTA. The efficacy of FTA in relieving CCl_4-induced liver fibrosis was evidenced by the alleviation of hepatocyte necrosis, liver inflammation, and hepatic collagen deposition. FTA decreased the mRNA expression of Acta2, Tgfβ, Col1 a1, and Col3 a1 and protein expression of α-SMA both in vivo and in vitro. FTA reversed the increase of α-SMA and Vim and the decrease of CD31 and Ve-cadherin in livers from mice treated with CCl_4. Therefore, FTA alleviated CCl_4-induced liver fibrosis in mice via suppressing HSC activation and reversing EMT.
Animals ; Mice ; Actins/metabolism* ; Alanine Transaminase/blood* ; Carbon Tetrachloride/metabolism* ; Collagen/metabolism* ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; Liver/drug effects* ; Liver Cirrhosis/genetics* ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism* ; Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism* ; Glycosides/therapeutic use*

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX) on acute liver injury induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/D-galactosamine (D-Gal) and the underlying mechanism. Male BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally injected with LPS/D-Gal to induce acute liver injury model, and pretreated with DEX or in combination with the autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine (3-MA) 30 min before injection. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, as well as myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in liver tissue were determined with the corresponding kits. Serum tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were determined by ELISA. The protein expression levels of LC3-II and P62 in liver tissue were determined by Western blot. Liver histopathological changes were detected by HE staining. The results showed that, compared with control group, LPS/D-Gal enhanced ALT and AST activity, increased TNF-α and IL-6 levels, as well as MPO activity, up-regulated LC3-II and P62 protein expression levels, and significantly induced pathological damage in liver tissue. DEX reversed the above changes in the LPS/D-Gal group, whereas these protective effects of DEX were blocked by 3-MA. The above results suggest that DEX alleviates LPS/D-Gal-induced acute liver injury, which may be associated with the up-regulation of LC3-II protein expression and the activation of autophagy.
Alanine Transaminase ; Animals ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/drug therapy* ; Dexmedetomidine/pharmacology* ; Galactosamine/toxicity* ; Interleukin-6/blood* ; Lipopolysaccharides/toxicity* ; Liver ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins/metabolism* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/blood* ; Up-Regulation

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the clinical characteristics in patients of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) complicated with liver injury, to explore the relationship between COVID-19 clinical classification and liver injury, and to elucidate whether COVID-19 complicated with hepatitis B virus can aggravate liver injury. METHODS: The abnormal liver function in 110 patients in the First Hospital of Changsha, who were confirmed COVID-19 and admitted to the designated hospital from January 17, 2020 to February 20, 2020, wereretrospectively analyzed. The detection indexes included serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), albumin (ALB), and total bilirubin (TBIL). RESULTS: A total of 49.1% of the COVID-19 patients had liver injury. There were significant difference in the ALT, AST, ALB (all <0.05), but there was no significant difference in the TBIL (>0.05) between the severe (critical) patients and the general (light) patients. There was also no significant difference in the liver function injury between the HBsAg-positive COVID-19 patients and HBsAg-negative COVID-19 patients (>0.05). Acute liver injury was not found to be a direct cause of death in the patients. CONCLUSIONS In the COVID-19 patients, the incidence of liver injury is high with the increase of ALT and AST and the decrease of ALB. Severe and critical patients have obvious liver injury, and those patients complicated with hepatitis B virus infection don't show aggravated liver injury.
Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Betacoronavirus ; Bilirubin ; blood ; Coronavirus Infections ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Liver ; physiopathology ; virology ; Liver Diseases ; virology ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; diagnosis ; Serum Albumin, Human ; analysis

blood glucose, blood urea nitrogen, hematocrit, and hemoglobin), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits (calcium, magnesium, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, bilirubin, and albumin). Similar trends were found for the parameters of biochemistries, electrolytes, and blood gas, and they revealed no significant changes after blood withdrawal-induced hemorrhagic shock. However, the TBS group showed more effective ability to correct metabolic acidosis than the NS and RS groups. TBS was a feasible and safe resuscitation solution in this study and may be an alternative to NS and RS for resuscitation in hemorrhagic shock patients without liver damage.]]>
Acidosis ; Alanine Transaminase ; Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Bilirubin ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Carbon Dioxide ; Creatinine ; Electrolytes ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hematocrit ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Liver ; Magnesium ; Male ; Oxygen ; Potassium ; Rats ; Resuscitation ; Shock, Hemorrhagic ; Sodium

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine factors associated with obesity among Korean adolescents. METHODS: The participants were 436 Korean adolescents aged 12~18 years who took part in the seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016). The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, the χ² test, one-way analysis of variance, and multinomial logistic regression using complex sample analysis. RESULTS: Among the participants, 9.7% were classified as being obese, and 11.9% as being overweight. Several health parameters, including systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and triglyceride, fasting blood sugar, and alanine aminotransferase levels, varied according to obesity. Distorted perceptions of body shape showed a significant negative association with overweight, and carbohydrate intake was negatively associated with obesity. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that obesity in Korean adolescents was associated with lifestyle and health parameters. Therefore, intervention programs for obese or overweight adolescents should focus on preventing them from developing health problems.
Adolescent* ; Alanine Transaminase ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Fasting ; Humans ; Korea* ; Life Style ; Logistic Models ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Obesity* ; Overweight ; Triglycerides ; Waist Circumference

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic effects of entecavir (ETV) and interferon- (IFN-) treatments for 48 weeks for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in patients with different baseline alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 369 CHB patients receiving ETV and IFN- treatments for 48 weeks. We compared the virological response rates, HBsAg clearance, and HBsAg reduction between the patients receiving ETV and IFN- treatments with different baseline ALT levels[≤ 5×upper limits of normal (ULN) level (subgroup 1), 5-10×ULN (subgroup 2), and > 10× ULN (subgroup 3)]. RESULTS: In patients receiving ETV treatment, the virological response rate was 83.3% in subgroup 1, 91.4% in subgroup 2, and 95.5% in subgroup 3, as compared with 19.7%, 40%, and 42.9% in the 3 subgroups with IFN- treatment, respectively, showing significantly differences both among different subgroups with the same treatment and between the same subgroup with different treatments ( < 0.05). HBeAg clearance rates in the 3 subgroups were 8.3%, 16.7% and 35.5% in patients with ETV treatment and were 1.8%, 41.9%, and 38.1% in patients with IFN- treatment, respectively, showing significant differences among the 3 subgroups with the same treatment ( < 0.05); in the same subgroups with different treatments, the rates differed significantly only between subgroups 2 ( < 0.05). In ETV group, the rate of HBsAg reduction to below 200 IU/ml was 2.5% in subgroup 1 and 13.8% in subgroup 2, showing no significant difference between the two subgroups; in IFN- group, the rates were also similar between subgroups 1 and 2 (30.6% 33.3%, > 0.05); but the rates differed significantly between the same subgroups with different treatments ( < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS In all the subgroups with different baseline ALT levels, ETV treatment for 48 weeks results in significantly higher virological response rates than IFN- treatment in patients with CHB. In patients with a baseline ALT of 5-10 ×ULN, IFN- can result in a higher HBeAg clearance rate than ETV. In patients with comparable baseline ALT level, IFN- more effectively reduces HBsAg level than ETV. The patients with a relatively high baseline ALT level (> 5 × ULN) show better responses to both ETV and IFN- treatment than those with ALT level below 5×ULN. We thus recommend IFN- for patients with a baseline ALT of 5-10×ULN and ETV for patients with a baseline ALT either below 5 × ULN or beyond 10×ULN.
Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; DNA, Viral ; Guanine ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B virus ; immunology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; enzymology ; immunology ; virology ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; Viral Load ; drug effects

To study the mechanism and action of Cinnamomi Ramulus in ameliorating intrahepatic cholestasis induced by α-isothiocyanate( ANIT) in rats by regulating FXR pathway. Forty SD rats were randomly divided into normal group,model group,positive control( ursodeoxycholic acid) group( 60 mg·kg~(-1)),Cinnamomi Ramulus treatment( 60 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) group,and Cinnamomi Ramulus treatment( 20 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) group,with 8 rats in each group. Except for the normal control group,the other groups were intragastrically administered with the corresponding concentrations of continuous aqueous solution( 0. 005 m L·g~(-1)),once a day,for 7 days.Except for the normal group,the other groups were treated with ANIT( 100 mg·kg~(-1)),once a day,for 3 days. Blood was taken from the abdominal aorta 24 hours after the last administration,and serum alanine aminotransferase( ALT),aspartate aminotransferase( AST),total bilirubin( TBi L),and total bile acid( TBA) were measured. 1. 5-2 cm of rat liver tissue was taken. After fixation with10% formaldehyde,paraffin-embedded sections were taken,HE staining was performed,and immunohistochemistry( IHC) was used to analyze the expression of FXR. RNA and protein were extracted from rat liver tissue to detect FXR mRNA expression,as well as bile acid synthesis and detoxification,transport related SHP,UGT2 B4,BSEP protein expressions at downstream of FXR. Compared with the normal group,serum ALT,AST,TBi L,and TBA levels were elevated in the model group( P<0. 01),liver damage was severe,FXR protein's optical density decreased,FXR mRNA expression decreased,and SHP,UGT2 B4,BSEP protein expressions were decreased( P<0. 05,P<0. 01). Compared with the model group,the drug group could reduce serum ALT,AST,TB,TBA levels to different degrees( P<0. 05,P<0. 01),alleviate liver tissue damage,increase the optical density of FXR protein,and promote the expressions of FXR mRNA and FXR,SHP,BSEP and UGT2 B4 proteins( P<0. 05,P<0. 01). Cinnamomi Ramulus can alleviate ANIT-induced intrahepatic cholestasis,and reduce hepatocyte injury and serum ALT,AST,TBi L and TBA levels. The mechanism may be through FXR-SHP,FXR-UGT2 B4,FXR-BSEP signaling pathways. Therefore,in the pathogenesis of intrahepatic cholestasis,we can try to further explore in alleviating intrahepatic cholestasis with Cinnamomi Ramulus,so as to provide effective drugs for clinical treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis.
Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Bile Acids and Salts ; blood ; Bilirubin ; blood ; Cholestasis, Intrahepatic ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Cinnamomum ; chemistry ; Isothiocyanates ; Liver ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; RNA-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Adult ; Aged ; Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; blood ; epidemiology ; China ; epidemiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome ; blood ; epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors