Transcriptomic study in explanted liver from a patient with acute intermittent porphyria.

Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a rare disease caused by a deficiency of hydroxymethylbilane synthase (HMBS), the third enzyme of the heme-synthesis pathway. Decreased enzymatic activity in the liver induces an overproduction of heme-precursors and acute neurological attacks. We report a 36-years-old female with AIP with a long-term history of severe, disabling, recurrent attacks, who underwent curative liver transplantation.

Regression of fibrosis after chronic stimulation of cannabinoid CB2 receptor in cirrhotic rats.

Two cannabinoid (CB) receptor subtypes, CB1 and CB2, have been cloned and characterized. Among other activities, receptor activation by cannabinoid ligands may result in pro- or antifibrogenic effects depending on their interaction with CB1 or CB2, respectively. In the current study, we investigated whether selective activation of hepatic CB2 modifies collagen abundance in cirrhotic rats with ascites.

Antiangiogenic treatment with sunitinib ameliorates inflammatory infiltrate, fibrosis, and portal pressure in cirrhotic rats.

Unlabelled: Liver cirrhosis is a very complex disease in which several pathological processes such as inflammation, fibrosis, and pathological angiogenesis are closely integrated. We hypothesized that treatment with pharmacological agents with multiple mechanisms of action will produce superior results to those achieved by only targeting individual mechanisms. This study thus evaluates the therapeutic use of the multitargeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor Sunitinib (SU11248).

Impaired extracellular matrix degradation in aortic vessels of cirrhotic rats.

Background/aims: Thinning of the vascular wall occurs in conductance vessels of cirrhotic rats. Increased nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity has been involved in the pathogenesis of this phenomenon. Therefore, we assessed the NO-regulated cell signaling pathways participating in vascular remodeling in cirrhosis.

Microarray analysis of endothelial differentially expressed genes in liver of cirrhotic rats.

Background & Aims: There is a long-standing interest in the identification of endothelial-specific pathways for therapeutic targeting in cirrhosis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate differences in gene expression patterns between liver endothelial cells (LECs) from control and cirrhotic rats by using microarrays.

Methods: LECs were obtained by isopycnic centrifugation.

Sustained aquaretic effect of the V2-AVP receptor antagonist, RWJ-351647, in cirrhotic rats with ascites and water retention.

1 A disturbance in body water homeostasis is a common feature in advanced cirrhosis. This disturbance is always associated with the existence of ascites and is characterized by an inability to adjust the amount of water excreted in the urine to the amount of water ingested. Vasopressin (AVP) is of major importance in the pathogenesis of water retention and hyponatremia in cirrhosis.