Covert hepatic encephalopathy is associated with aggressive disease progression and poor survival in patients with cirrhosis.

Objectives: Covert hepatic encephalopathy (CHE) negatively affects the health-related quality of life and increases the risk of overt HE (OHE) in patients with liver cirrhosis. However, the impact of CHE on long-term patient outcomes remains controversial. This study aimed to explore the association between CHE and disease progression and survival among cirrhotic patients.

Sustained ameliorating effects and autonomic mechanisms of transcutaneous electrical acustimulation at ST36 in patients with chronic constipation.

Background And Aims: The treatment of chronic constipation is still a great challenge in clinical practice. This study aimed to determine the efficacy and sustained effects of transcutaneous electrical acustimulation (TEA) at acupoint ST36 on the treatment of chronic constipation and explore possible underlying mechanisms.

Methods: Forty-four patients with chronic constipation were recruited and randomly assigned to a TEA group or sham-TEA group.

Effects of Low-dose and High-dose Rifaximin in the Treatment of Covert Hepatic Encephalopathy.

Background And Aims: Rifaximin is effective in preventing and treating hepatic encephalopathy (HE). This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of different dosages of rifaximin in the treatment of cirrhotic patients with covert HE (CHE).

Methods: In this single-center, randomized, controlled, open-label study, CHE was diagnosed using a combination of the psychometric HE score and the EncephalApp Stroop test.

Transcutaneous Electrical Acustimulation Ameliorates Motion Sickness Induced by Rotary Chair in Healthy Subjects: A Prospective Randomized Crossover Study.

Objectives: Motion sickness (MS) is a common physiological response to real or virtual motion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of transcutaneous electrical acustimulation (TEA) on MS and the underlying mechanisms in healthy subjects.

Materials And Methods: A total of 50 healthy participants were recruited and randomly assigned into two groups to complete two separate sessions in a crossover study.

Cell reprogramming in liver with potential clinical correlations.

The theory of cell reprogramming has developed rapidly during the past decades. Cell reprogramming has been widely used in the construction of experimental models and cytotherapy for certain diseases. Hepatocyte-like cells that are important for the treatment of end-stage liver disease can now be obtained with a variety of reprogramming techniques.

Symptomatic features and prognosis of 932 hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Wuhan.

Objective: To discern the symptomatic features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to evaluate the severity and prognosis of the disease.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, 932 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan were enrolled, including 52 severe and 880 non-severe cases. All patients were followed up for 3 months after discharge.

The HLF/IL-6/STAT3 feedforward circuit drives hepatic stellate cell activation to promote liver fibrosis.

Background And Aims: Liver fibrosis is a wound-healing response that disrupts the liver architecture and function by replacing functional parenchyma with scar tissue. Recent progress has advanced our knowledge of this scarring process, but the detailed mechanism of liver fibrosis is far from clear.

Methods: The fibrotic specimens of patients and HLF (hepatic leukemia factor) mice were used to assess the expression and role of HLF in liver fibrosis.

Chronic inflammation-elicited liver progenitor cell conversion to liver cancer stem cell with clinical significance.

Unlabelled: The substantial heterogeneity and hierarchical organization in liver cancer support the theory of liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs). However, the relationship between chronic hepatic inflammation and LCSC generation remains obscure. Here, we observed a close correlation between aggravated inflammation and liver progenitor cell (LPC) propagation in the cirrhotic liver of rats exposed to diethylnitrosamine.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts promote hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis through chemokine-activated hedgehog and TGF-β pathways.

Fibroblasts are rich in the surrounding microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) because most HCCs occur in fibrotic or cirrhotic livers. However, the role of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in HCC metastasis remains obscure. Here, we reported that CAFs promote the migration and invasion of HCC cells in vitro and facilitate the HCC metastasis to the bone, brain and lung in NOD/SCID mice.

MicroRNA-370 Attenuates Hepatic Fibrogenesis by Targeting Smoothened.

Background And Aims: Recent research shows that abnormal expression of microRNA plays an important role in the process of hepatic fibrosis . miR-370 has been reported to be involved in liver function and is suppressed during hepatic carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of miR-370 in hepatic fibrosis.

FOXA2 suppresses the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma partially through matrix metalloproteinase-9 inhibition.

The forkhead box transcription factor A2 (FOXA2) is a member of the hepatocyte nuclear factor family and plays an important role in liver development and metabolic homeostasis, but its role in the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been evaluated. In this study, we found that the expression of FOXA2 was decreased in 68.1% (49/72) of human HCC tissues compared with their paired non-cancerous adjacent tissues.

The transcription factor FOXA2 suppresses gastric tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo.

Background And Aims: The transcription factor forkhead box A2 (FOXA2) plays a central role in the development of endoderm-derived organs. It has been reported that FOXA2 acts as a suppressor in many kinds of tumor. However, little is known about the role of FOXA2 in gastric cancer.

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α-nuclear factor-κB feedback circuit modulates liver cancer progression.

Unlabelled: Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) is a liver enriched transcription factor and is indispensable for liver development. However, the role of HNF4α in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression remains to be elucidated. We report that reduced HNF4α expression correlated well with the aggressive clinicopathological characteristics of HCC and predicted poor prognosis of patients.

Hepatocyte nuclear factor-4α reverses malignancy of hepatocellular carcinoma through regulating miR-134 in the DLK1-DIO3 region.

Unlabelled: Hepatocyte nuclear factor-4α (HNF4α) is a dominant transcriptional regulator of hepatocyte differentiation and hepatocellular carcinogenesis. There is striking suppression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by HNF4α, although the mechanisms by which HNF4α reverses HCC malignancy are largely unknown. Herein, we demonstrate that HNF4α administration to HCC cells resulted in elevated levels of 28 mature microRNAs (miRNAs) from the miR-379-656 cluster, which is located in the delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1) -iodothyronine deiodinase 3 (DIO3) locus on human chromosome 14q32.

Perturbation of MicroRNA-370/Lin-28 homolog A/nuclear factor kappa B regulatory circuit contributes to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Unlabelled: MicroRNA 370 (miR-370) is located within the DLK1/DIO3 imprinting region on human chromosome 14, which has been identified as a cancer-associated genomic region. However, the role of miR-370 in malignances remains controversial. Here, we report that miR-370 was repressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and hepatoma cell lines.

Regression effect of hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α on liver cirrhosis in rats.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether cirrhosis could be reversed after treated with hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α), a key transcriptional regulator of hepatocyte differentiation and function.

Methods: Early and advanced stages of liver cirrhosis were induced by thioacetamide (TAA) administration. The adenovirus carrying HNF4α gene was injected into cirrhotic rats via the tail vein.

Hepatic transforming growth factor beta gives rise to tumor-initiating cells and promotes liver cancer development.

Unlabelled: Liver cirrhosis is a predominant risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the mechanism underlying the progression from cirrhosis to HCC remains unclear. Herein we report the concurrent increase of liver progenitor cells (LPCs) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced rat hepatocarcinogenesis and cirrhotic livers of HCC patients.

Recombinant adenovirus carrying the hepatocyte nuclear factor-1alpha gene inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma xenograft growth in mice.

Unlabelled: Hepatocyte nuclear factor-1alpha (HNF1α) is one of the key transcription factors of the HNF family, which plays a critical role in hepatocyte differentiation. Substantial evidence has suggested that down-regulation of HNF1α may contribute to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Herein, human cancer cells and tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs) were isolated from human HCC tissues, respectively.

Gankyrin-mediated dedifferentiation facilitates the tumorigenicity of rat hepatocytes and hepatoma cells.

Unlabelled: Gankyrin is a critical oncoprotein overexpressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the mechanism underlying gankyrin-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis remains elusive. Herein, we provide evidence that gankyrin expression was progressively elevated in liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and HCC.

Sophocarpine alleviates non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in rats.

Background And Aim: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is one entity in the spectrum of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study was to explore the prevention and therapeutic effect of sophocarpine on experimental rat NASH.

Methods: Sophocarpine with the dosage of 20 mg/kg/day was injected into NASH rats.

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha suppresses the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) is a transcription factor that plays a key role in hepatocyte differentiation and the maintenance of hepatic function, but its role in hepatocarcinogenesis has yet to be examined. Here, we report evidence of a suppressor role for HNF4α in liver cancer. HNF4α expression was progressively decreased in the diethylinitrosamine-induced rat model of liver carcinogenesis.

Inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 by adenovirus mediated small interfering RNA attenuates hepatic fibrosis in rats.

Unlabelled: Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 (ERK1) is a critical part of the mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pathway, which is involved in hepatic fibrosis. However, the effect of down-regulation of ERK1 on hepatic fibrosis has not been reported. Here, we induced hepatic fibrosis in rats with dimethylnitrosamine administration or bile duct ligation.

[Prokaryotic expression, purification of prM of JEV and preparation of monoclonal antibody].

Objective: To prepare monoclonal antibody (mAb) against prM epitope.

Methods: The gene encoding prM was isolated using RT-PCR from brain of JEV infected mouse and cloned into prokaryotic expression vector pET-32a. Recombinant plasmid was transformed into E.

[Identification of recombinant aldolase of Plasmodium falciparum and its monoclonal antibody preparation].

Objective: To identify the recombinant aldolase (ALD) of Plasmodium falciparum, and to develop monoclonal antibodies (McAbs) against the recombinant ALD.

Methods: ALD gene was amplified by PCR from genomic DNA of FCC1/HN strain, and expressed in E. coli DH5 alpha.