ObjectivesTo investigate the effect of the Bioinformatics Infrared Liver Therapeutic （BILT） instrument on portal vein blood flow， liver stiffness， and spleen stiffness in patients with liver cirrhosis， and to preliminarily explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of the BILT instrument. MethodsA total of 78 patients with compensated liver cirrhosis who attended the outpatient service or were hospitalized in Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from October 2017 to December 2021 were enrolled， among whom 68 patients completed the 12-week treatment and were randomly divided into BILT group and simulated instrument group， with 34 patients in each group. In addition to basic treatment， the patients in the BILT group received irradiation with the BILT instrument， while those in the simulated instrument group received irradiation with the simulated instrument， for 30 minutes each time， twice a day； the course of treatment was 12 weeks for both groups. The two groups were compared in terms of laboratory markers （liver function， renal function， and routine blood test results）， liver and spleen ultrasound morphology， color Doppler blood flow detection （portal vein diameter， portal vein cross-sectional area， mean portal vein velocity， peak portal vein velocity， and mean portal vein flow）， and liver/spleen stiffness measurement before and after treatment. The independent samples t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U rank sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups； the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The paired samples correlation test was performed for the data before and after treatment within each group， and the paired samples t-test or the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed for data with significant correlations. ResultsThe paired samples correlation test showed no correlation in spleen attenuation parameter before and after treatment， suggesting that the results of spleen fat measured by FibroTouch could not be used for statistical analysis. After 12 weeks of treatment， compared with the control group， the treatment group had significantly greater increases in portal vein diameter， portal vein cross-sectional area， and mean portal vein flow and a significantly greater reduction in liver stiffness measurement （all P0.05）. At week 0 before treatment and after 12 weeks of treatment， comparison of the immediate effect after 30 minutes of BILT irradiation showed that the treatment group had significant increases in portal vein diameter， portal vein cross-sectional area， mean portal vein velocity， and mean portal vein flow （all P0.05）， while the control group showed no significant changes after irradiation （all P0.05）； compared with the control group， the treatment group had significantly greater changes in all indicators except peak portal vein flow at week 0 （all P0.05）. No adverse events were observed in either group. ConclusionThe BILT instrument can improve portal vein blood flow in the liver and alleviate liver stiffness/fibrosis in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Purpose: This study compared the diagnostic performance of the Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System (O-RADS), the Risk of Malignancy Index 4 (RMI4), the International Ovarian of Tumor Analysis Logistic Regression Model 2 (IOTA LR2), and the IOTA Simple Rules (IOTA SR) in predicting the malignancy of adnexal masses (AMs). Methods: This retrospective study included 575 women with AMs between 2017 and 2020. All clinical messages, ultrasound images, and pathological findings were collected. Two senior doctors (group I) and two junior doctors (group II) used the four systems to classify AMs. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was used as the gold standard to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to test the diagnostic performance. The interrater agreement between the two groups was tested using kappa values. Results: Of all 592 AMs, 447 (75.5%) were benign, 123 (20.8%) were malignant, and 22 (3.7%) were borderline. The intergroup consistency test yielded kappa values of 0.71, 0.92, 0.68, and 0.77 for the O-RADS, RMI4, IOTA LR2, and IOTA SR, respectively. To predict malignant lesions, the areas under the curve of the O-RADS, RMI4, IOTA LR2, and IOTA SR systems were 0.90, 0.89, 0.90, and 0.86 for group I and 0.89, 0.87, 0.88, and 0.84 for group II, respectively. The O-RADS had the highest sensitivity (91.0% in group I and 84.8% in group II). Conclusion The four diagnostic systems could compensate for junior doctors’ inexperience in predicting malignant adnexal lesions. The O-RADS performed best and showed the highest sensitivity.

Objective To investigate the effect of liver CD8 + T lymphocytes on co-cultured hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) after the application of Fuzheng Huayu prescription in a moues model of acute liver injury, as well as the mechanism of action of Fuzheng Huayu prescription in preventing liver fibrosis. Methods A total of 18 specific pathogen-free male C57BL/6NCrl Vr mice were randomly divided into normal group, model group, and Fuzheng Huayu prescription group, with 6 mice in each group. The mice in the Fuzheng Huayu prescription group were given Fuzheng Huayu prescription for 5 days in advance. At 12 hours before the experiment, 10% CCl 4 was injected intraperitoneally at a dose of 2 mL/kg body weight. Blood was collected from the main abdominal vein, and the serum was separated to measure the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Part of the liver was used for pathological observation. After the mice were pretreated with medication in vivo, flow cytometry was used for the sorting of mouse liver CD8 + T lymphocytes, which were then co-cultured with the mouse HSC cell line (JS 1) in a 96-well plate at a ratio of 2∶ 1, and after co-culture for 24 and 48 hours, qPCR was used to measure the changes in the mRNA expression of Col.I and α-SMA. An analysis of variance was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between multiple groups, and the SNK- q test or the least significant difference t -test was used for further comparison between two groups. Results The model group had significantly higher activities of ALT and AST than the normal group (both P < 0.000 1), and compared with the model group, the Fuzheng Huayu prescription group had a significantly lower degree of increase in ALT activity ( P < 0.001). HE staining showed that the Fuzheng Huayu prescription group had a significantly lower degree of hepatocyte degeneration and necrosis compared with the model group. Compared with the normal group, the total lymphocytes, CD45, CD4 - CD8 + T and CD8 + CD28 - T in the model group increased significantly, while the proportion of the above lymphocytes in the Fuzheng Huayu formula group decreased significantly compared with the model group ( P < 0.001). CD8 + T lymphocytes isolated from the liver of mice in each group were co-cultured with JS 1 for 48 hours, and compared with the control group (JS 1 cultured alone) and the normal group, the model group had a significant increase in the mRNA expression of α-SMA (both P < 0.01) and significantly higher mRNA expression of Col.I than the control group and the normal group (normal mouse liver CD8 + T lymphocytes co-cultured with JS 1) (both P < 0.001). The Fuzheng Huayu prescription group had significantly lower mRNA expression levels of α-SMA and Col.I than the model group (both P < 0.01). Conclusion Fuzheng Huayu prescription can indirectly inhibit activated HSCs by altering the functional phenotype of CD8 + T lymphocytes in mouse liver.

ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy and safety of Fuzheng Huayu tablets (FZHY) combined with entecavir (ETV) in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) liver fibrosis. MethodsA total of 52 patients with CHB liver fibrosis with an Ishak stage of ≥F3 who were treated in Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from April 2011 to January 2013 were enrolled and divided into FZHY combined with ETV group (combination group) and placebo combined with ETV group (control group), with 26 patients in each group, and the course of treatment was 48 weeks for both groups. Liver biopsy was performed before and after these treatment; clinical outcome was determined based on the reversal rate of Ishak stage for liver fibrosis and the improvement rate of histological activity index (HAI) for inflammation grade, and safety was evaluated based on electrocardiographic findings. Three datasets (full analysis set, per-protocol set, and safety dataset) were identified for analysis; the t-test or the Wilcoxon test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups, and the CMH chi-square test, the chi-square test, or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. ResultsOf all 52 patients, 46 underwent the two liver biopsies before and after treatment, with 22 in the combination group and 24 in the control group. At week 48 of treatment, there was a significant difference in the proportion of patients with Ishak stage reduced by ≥1 stage between the combination group and the control group (81.8% vs 54.2%, χ2=5.297, P=0.021). There was also a significant difference in the improvement rate of HAI grade between the combination group and the control group were (59.1% vs 25.0%, χ2=6.822, P=0.009). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the incidence rates of adverse events and serious adverse events, the safety analysis of vital signs, and laboratory safety indicators (all P＞0.05). ConclusionFZHY combined with ETV has significant advantages over ETV alone in improving liver fibrosis and inflammation, and antiviral therapy combined with anti-fibrosis therapy can bring better hepatic histological improvement for CHB patients. FZHY combined with ETV has good safety in the treatment of patients with CHB liver fibrosis.

Mdr2 knockout mice is a liver disease model, which causes cholestasis due to the lack of phospholipids in the bile. At present, it is not only used for the study of human homologous MDR3 gene, but also widely used as an animal model of liver diseases such as primary sclerosing cholangitis, liver fibrosis, progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, liver cancer. Herein, we review the Mdr2 knockout mice physiological characteristics and its application in liver disease research.

Exosomes are small vesicles with a bilayer membrane structure secreted by a variety of cells. They are widely distributed in a variety of body fluids and contain proteins, nucleic acids and other components. They can mediate information transmission between cells and participate in a variety of physiological and pathological activities of cells. Hepatocytes, hepatic sinus endothelial cells and other cells were able to communicate with hepatic stellate cells via exosomes, and regulate the activation, migration, apoptosis and other biological activities of hepatic stellate cells. In this review, the recent advances in the regulation of exosomes on the biological activity of hepatic stellate cells were reviewed.

Objective: To determine whether the anti-hepatic fibrosis effect of Fuzheng-Huayu formula is related to suppress autophagy in mice. Methods: C57 mice were randomly divided into normal group (N group) and model group. The model group was induced by intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride to induce liver fibrosis in mice, and the normal group was injected with equal volume of olive oil. After 1 week, the model group was randomly divided into model (M) group, rapamycin (Rapa) group, rapamycin plus chloroquine (Rapa+CQ) group, rapamycin plus salvianolic acid B (Rapa+Sal B) group, rapamycin plus Fuzheng -Huayu formula (Rapa+FZ) group. Each drug group was administered corresponding drugs by gavage on a daily basis, and N group and M group were given the equal amount of drinking water by gavage. After 5 weeks, the mice were sacrificed, and HE and Sirius red staining were used to observe the inflammation and collagen deposition on liver tissue in each group. The hydroxyproline content was determined by alkaline hydrolysis method. Western blotting was used to detect changes in the expression of autophagy in liver tissue and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3II/I (LC3II/I), p62, α-smooth muscle actin (ɑ-SMA) and type I collagen expression. Immunofluorescence staining was used to observe the immunofluorescence localization of ɑ-SMA and LC3B in liver tissues of each group. ). A t-test was used to compare the two independent samples. LSD or Dunnett’s T3 test were used to compare the mean of multiple samples. Results: There was no significant difference in N and M groups in terms of body weight. The body weight of the mice in each drug group decreased significantly (F = 14.041, P < 0.001). The liver/spleen /body weight ratios of each drug group and M group were significantly higher than the N group (F = 26.992, 6.589, P < 0.001). The expression of p62 protein in the liver tissue of mice in each drug group was lower than M group, and the difference between Rapa group and Rapa+Sal B group (F = 3.085, P = 0.039, 0.003) was statistically significant, while that of Rapa + Sal B group was lower. Compared with group M, the expression of LC3B II in Rapa group was significantly higher (F = 7.514, P = 0.01). Immunofluorescence staining showed that LC3B and α-SMA CO-stained cells were absent in the liver of mice in N group, and co-stained cells were found in the liver of mice in M group. The co-stained cells in the liver of mice in each drug group were significantly higher than M group, and the co-stained cells in Rapa+FZ group were fewer. Compared with the N group, the collagen deposition of M group and each drug group was significantly increased; the collagen deposition of each drug group was lower than that of the M group. There was no statistically significant difference between each drug group. Compared with N group (77.75 + 48.79), hydroxyproline in liver tissue of mice in M group was significantly increased (293.48 + 84.43) (F = 3.015, P = 0.005), and the content of hydroxyproline in liver tissue of mice in each drug group was lower than M group, but the difference was not statistically significant (F = 0.750, P = 0.573). Compared with the N group, the expressions of α-SMA and type I collagen in the M group were significantly increased (F = 27.718, 18.893, P < 0.01). The expression of α-SMA in Rapa group and Rapa+Sal B group was similar to M group, while Rapa + CQ group and Rapa + FZ group were significantly lower than Rapa group and M group (P < 0.01). The expression of type I collagen in Rapa + CQ group was significantly higher than Rapa group (P = 0.017), while the expression of type I collagen in Rapa + FZ group was significantly lower than M group (P = 0.013). Conclusion Autophagy of hepatic stellate cells was observed in carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis model. Rapamycin can promote autophagy in hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells. Fuzheng-Huayu formula and Salvianolic Acid B might antagonize the effect of rapamycin on autophagy.

Portal vein thrombosis refers to the formation of a thrombus in the trunk of the portal vein and /or its branches due to various causes, and is one of the common complications of cirrhosis. Synthesizing the existing evidence, this paper summaries the cirrhosis with portal vein thrombosis in terms of epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology, risk factors, definition and classification, clinical manifestations and complications, diagnosis and screening, treatment, follow-up and prognosis, prospects and problems.

Liver fibrosis has a complex pathogenesis, and at present, the research mainly focuses on hepatic stellate cells (HSC). Many stimulating factors and regulatory pathways have been found to promote the activation of HSC. This article reviews the recent research findings on several major cytokines and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ and research hotspots in recent years, including the association of microRNAs, long non-coding RNA, and exosomes with HSC activation. This article also introduces potential targets for the treatment of liver fibrosis and new markers for noninvasive diagnosis of liver diseases and proposes that chemical drugs or traditional Chinese medicine compounds which act on the targets of HSC activation can be formulated, in order to make a breakthrough in the therapeutics of liver fibrosis.

China has become one of the leading counties in the world to treat hepatic fibrosis with Chinese patent drugs.The therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) should be evalvated from the aspects of short-term therapeutic effect,long-term therapeutic effect,and effect of relief of symptoms.This article introduces the results of our exploration of the application of liver stiffness measurement to evaluate therapeutic effect,five-year survival rate to assess]ong-term therapeutic effect,and a TCM syndrome scale to evaluate effect of relief of symptoms,suggesting that the Chinese patent drug Fuzheng Huayu capsules/tablets have a marked clinical effect in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.It is recommended to use serological diagnostic models,conduct prospective studies with long-term follow-up,and analyze the samples and data accumulated over a long period of time,in order to perfect the methods for evaluating the outcome of hepatic fibrosis.