Synergistic Effect of Biejia-Ruangan on Fibrosis Regression in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Treated With Entecavir: A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Background: Long-term nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) treatment can reverse liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB), but its effect on fibrosis regression remains limited. Biejia-Ruangan (BR) has been approved in China as an antifibrotic traditional Chinese medicine drug in patients with chronic liver diseases. A multicenter randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effect of BR on fibrosis regression in CHB patients treated with NAs.

A Novel Noninvasive Program for Staging Liver Fibrosis in Untreated Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B.

Objectives: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) can progress into liver fibrosis and cirrhosis with poor outcomes. Early and accurate diagnosis of liver fibrosis/cirrhosis is important to guide the preventive strategy of their related complications.

Methods: A Chinese multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted to develop and validate a novel noninvasive program for staging liver fibrosis in untreated patients with CHB.

Pretreatment microRNA levels can predict HBsAg clearance in CHB patients treated with pegylated interferon α-2a.

Background: To investigate the predictive capability of microRNAs (miRNAs) prior treatment for HBsAg clearance in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) treated with pegylated interferon α-2a (PEG-IFNα-2a).

Methods: The treatment effect was determined by HBsAg clearance and subjects were classified into HBsAg clearance group and non HBsAg clearance group. Differential miRNAs expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was screened using microarrays in an identification cohort (n = 20) and validated by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in a confirmation cohort (n = 47).

Performance of several simple, noninvasive models for assessing significant liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Aim: To compare the performance of several simple, noninvasive models comprising various serum markers in diagnosing significant liver fibrosis in the same sample of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) with the same judgment standard.

Methods: A total of 308 patients with CHB who had undergone liver biopsy, laboratory tests, and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) at the Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, China between March 2010 and April 2014 were retrospectively studied. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under ROC curves (AUROCs) were used to analyze the results of the models, which incorporated age-platelet (PLT) index (API model), aspartate transaminase (AST) to alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio (AAR model), AST to PLT ratio index (APRI model), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) to PLT ratio index (GPRI model), GGT-PLT-albumin index (S index model), age-AST-PLT-ALT index (FIB-4 model), and age-AST-PLT-ALT-international normalized ratio index (Fibro-Q model).

Blocking and reversing hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B treated by traditional Chinese medicine (tablets of biejia ruangan or RGT): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) can progress to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and ultimately liver-related death. Although oral antiviral therapy for patients with CHB reduces the risk of such complications, once cirrhosis is established, the benefits of antiviral therapy are not robustly demonstrated. According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), some Chinese herbal medicines promote blood circulation and soften hard masses, and therefore they may block and reverse hepatic fibrosis.

[Effect of L-ornithine L-aspartate granules in treating chronic liver disease in patients with high-level serum gamma-glutamyltransferase].

Objective: To explore the clinical effect of L-ornithine L-aspartate (LOLA) granules in treating chronic liver disease in patients with high-level serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (G-GT) using a 24-week treatment course.

Methods: Two-hundred patients with chronic liver disease and above normal G-GT were given a 12-week course of LOLA granules (9 g/d) and then classified into the following three groups according to the change in serum Gamma-GT:group I:patients with Gamma-GT level returned to normal;group II:patients with serum Gamma-GT level that was reduced during the treatment; group III:patients with serum Gamma-GT level that did not decrease or that increased to a higher level than at start of treatment.After the 12-week treatment course, the patients in group I were divided into three subgroups for receipt of a control drug (compound glycyrrhizin, 50mg/d) or an additional 12-week course of Gamma-GT at a reduced dose (LOLA granules 3 g/d) or at the original dose; groups II and III were maintained on the initial dose for an additional 12 weeks.

Induction of hepatocyte-like cells from mouse embryonic stem cells by lentivirus-mediated constitutive expression of Foxa2/Hnf4a.

Hepatocytes can be generated from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) using inducers such as chemical compounds and cytokines, but issues related to low differentiation efficiencies remain to be resolved. Recent work has shown that overexpression of lineage-specific transcription factors can directly cause cells phenotypic changes, including differentiation, trans-differentiation, and de-differentiation. We hypothesized that lentivirus-mediated constitutive expression of forkhead box A2 (Foxa2) and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (Hnf4a) could promote inducing mouse ESCs to hepatocyte-likes cells.

Rotating microgravity-bioreactor cultivation enhances the hepatic differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells on biodegradable polymer scaffolds.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent cells that are capable of differentiating all the somatic cell lineages, including those in the liver tissue. We describe the generation of functional hepatic-like cells from mouse ES (mES) cells using a biodegradable polymer scaffold and a rotating bioreactor that allows simulated microgravity. Cells derived from ES cells cultured in the three-dimensional (3D) culture system with exogenous growth factors and hormones can differentiate into hepatic-like cells with morphologic characteristics of typical mature hepatocytes.

Human umbilical cord matrix stem cells efficiently rescue acute liver failure through paracrine effects rather than hepatic differentiation.

There is increasing evidence that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from different tissues could act as an alternative source of mature hepatocytes for treatment of acute liver failure (ALF). Human umbilical cord matrix stem cells (hUCMSCs) represent a novel source of MSCs. We examined the therapeutic potential and the different mechanisms of hUCMSCs by their transplantation into nonobese diabetic severe combined-immunodeficient (NOD-SCID) mice with carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced ALF in comparison to adult human hepatocytes (AHHs).

[The clinical study of percutaneous transhepatic radiofrequency ablation combined with tumor edge of percutaneous absolute ethanol injection on liver cancer adjacent to major blood vessels].

Objective: To explore the effects of percutaneous transhepatic radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) combined with tumor edge of percutaneous absolute ethanol injection (PEI) on liver cancer adjacent to major blood vessels.

Methods: Seventy five patients with liver cancer adjacent to major blood vessels were randomly divided into two groups: PRFA+PEI therapy group (38 cases) and PRFA control group (37 cases). Tumor necrosis rate, AFP levels, local recurrence rate, median for survival time and cum survival were used as the evaluation index to evaluate the efficacies of the two methods.