The potential therapeutic role of melatonin in organ fibrosis: a comprehensive review.

Organ fibrosis is a pathological process characterized by the inability of normal tissue cells to regenerate sufficiently to meet the dynamic repair demands of chronic injury, resulting in excessive extracellular matrix deposition and ultimately leading to organ dysfunction. Despite the increasing depth of research in the field of organ fibrosis and a more comprehensive understanding of its pathogenesis, effective treatments for fibrosis-related diseases are still lacking. Melatonin, a neuroendocrine hormone synthesized by the pineal gland, plays a crucial role in regulating biological rhythms, sleep, and antioxidant defenses.

[Assessment Value of Short-Term Prognosis of Six Predictive Models for Patients with Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure Treated with Artificial Liver Support System].

Objective: To apply 6 predictive models on acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) patients treated with artificial liver support system (ALSS), and to compare their assessment values for the short-term prognosis of patients.

Methods: A total of 258 ACLF patients who underwent ALSS therapy between January 2018 and December 2019 were selected from the ALSS clinical database established by West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and their clinical data and 90-day prognosis information were collected. Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the association between the six predictive models, including Chinese Group on the Study of Severe Hepatitis B-ACLF (COSSH ACLF), European Association for the Study of the Liver--Chronic Liver Failure-Consortium (CLIF-C) ACLF, CLIF-C Organ Failure (OF), Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) ACLF Research Consortium (AARC) ACLF, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) and Simplified MELD (sMELD), and 90-day mortality, which included death or receiving liver transplantation.

The positive rates of hepatitis B surface antibody in youth after booster vaccination: a 4-year follow-up study with large sample.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is still a public issue in the world. Hepatitis B vaccination is widely used as an effective measure to prevent HBV infection. This large-sample study aimed to evaluate the positive rates of hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) in youth after booster vaccination.

Simple non-invasive scoring systems and histological scores in predicting mortality in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Aim: There is debate among the hepatology community regarding the simple non-invasive scoring systems and histological scores (even it was developed for histological classification) in predicting clinical outcomes in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to determine whether the presence of simple non-invasive scoring systems and histological scores could predict all-cause mortality, liver-related mortality, and liver disease decompensation (liver failure, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, or decompensated liver disease).

Methods: The pooled hazard ratio of prognostic factors and incidence rate per 1000 person-years in patients with NAFLD was calculated and further adjusted by two different models of handling the duplicated data.

Long-term follow-up of HCV patients with sustained virological response after treatment with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin.

Background: The progress of liver diseases may not stop after viral eradication. This study aimed to provide data on long-term prognosis of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who underwent pegylated interferon plus ribavirin (PR) regimen and achieved a sustained virological response 24 weeks post-treatment (SVR24).

Methods: Responders to the PR regimen in our hospital from January 2011 to June 2014 were enrolled and prospectively followed up.

Plasma Apolipoprotein A-V Predicts Long-term Survival in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients with Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure.

Hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) is a life-threatening condition, and the lipid metabolism disorder is common in the development of this disease. This prospective observational study aimed to define the characteristics of plasma apolipoprotein A-V (apoA-V) in long-term outcome prediction of HBV-ACLF, and a total of 330 HBV-ACLF patients were included and followed for more than 12 months. In this cohort, the 4-week, 12-week, 24-week and 48-week cumulative mortality of HBV-ACLF was 18.

Serum hepatitis B core-related antigen is a satisfactory surrogate marker of intrahepatic covalently closed circular DNA in chronic hepatitis B.

Recently, hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) has been suggested as an additional marker of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This study aimed to investigate whether serum quantitative HBcrAg (qHBcrAg) was a satisfactory surrogate marker of intrahepatic covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA). A total of 139 patients with liver biopsy were enrolled, consisting of 59 patients in immune tolerance (IT) phase, 52 patients in immune clearance (IC) phase, 18 patients in low-replication (LR) phase, and 10 patients in reactivation phase.

Mutations in basal core promoter is associated with significant fibrosis in both HBeAg positive and negative treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B.

Aim: Assessment of liver fibrosis is important for the decision of whether to administrate antiviral treatment in chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) patients. The objective was to investigate the relationship between clinical factors and fibrosis, identify predictors of significant fibrosis in Chinese CHB patients.

Methods: Two hundred and seventy-four treatment-naïve CHB patients (208 HBeAg-positive and 66 HBeAg-negative) who performed transient elastography were consecutively included.

Quantitative intrahepatic HBV cccDNA correlates with histological liver inflammation in chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the role of baseline hepatitis B virus (HBV) forming covalently closed circular DNA (HBV cccDNA) in liver inflammation in patients infected with HBV with serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels under two times the upper limit of normal (2×ULN).

Methods: After liver biopsy and serum virological and biochemical marker screening, patients diagnosed with chronic HBV infection with serum ALT levels under 2×ULN and histological liver inflammation of less than grade G2 were prospectively recruited into this study. Recruitment took place between March 2009 and November 2010 at the Center of Infectious Disease, Sichuan University.

Hepatitis B virus infection in Chinese patients with hepatitis C virus infection: prevalence, clinical characteristics, viral interactions and host genotypes: a nationwide cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Little is known about hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in China. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, clinical characteristics, viral interactions and host genotypes of HBV/HCV dual infection compared with HCV monoinfection.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study.

Low Ratio of Treg to Th17 Cells After 36 Weeks of Telbivudine Therapy Predict HBeAg Seroconversion.

Changes of Treg/Th17 cells ratio and their associated cytokines have some correlations with an immune modulatory effect of Telbivudine treatment. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of the dynamic ratio of Treg/Th17 cells in the mechanism of LdT therapy and their relationships with the clinical responses. We detected the frequency and cytokines production of Treg and Th17 cells in 28 hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg)-positive CHB patients at 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 96 weeks after initial LdT therapy.

Biological characteristics of the A1762T/G1764A mutant strain of hepatitis B virus in vivo.

The double nucleotide, A1762T and G1764A exchange (TA mutation), in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome basal core promoter (BCP) region is a common viral mutation in patients with chronic HBV infection. This mutation is located in the binding site of hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 (HNF4), and a number of liver‑enriched transcription factors are involved in the regulation of HBV transcription and replication. The aim of the present study was to investigate the biological characteristics of the HBV strain with this mutation, and the effect of HNF4 inhibition on the replication of this strain in vivo.

Serum hepatitis B surface antigen titer and transient elastography in screening for insignificant fibrosis in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients.

Objective: To explore the predictive value of serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) titer and transient elastography in screening for insignificant fibrosis in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B patients.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of eligible patients treated from March 2012 to May 2013 at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. Eligible patients underwent liver transient elastography and liver biopsy.

The predictive value of early indicators for HBeAg seroconversion in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients with Telbivudine treatment for 104 weeks.

Purpose: Through an observation on HBeAg-positive chronic hepatits B (CHB) patients in Telbivudine (LDT) treatment for 104 weeks, we tried to explore valuable early predictors for HBeAg seroconversion during the treatment.

Materials And Methods: A prospective study lasting for 104 weeks was conducted, and the patients enrolled were administered with LDT 600 mg daily. The medical evaluation went every 12 weeks, then the age distribution, baseline ALT level, early HBVDNA, HBsAg and HBeAg levels at baseline, week 12 and 24 as well as the decrease of the three indicators at week 12 and 24 were analyzed for their predictive values for HBeAg seroconversion at week 104.

Efficacy of entecavir treatment for up to 96 weeks in nucleoside-naive HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients with high viral load.

Background And Aims: To evaluate the antiviral response of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients who had baseline high viral load (HVL), defined as having hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA>9log 10 copies/mL, after 96weeks of entecavir (ETV) treatment.

Methods: A total of 99 HBeAg-positive CHB patients (50 with HVL and 49 with non-HVL) were treated with ETV monotherapy for 96weeks.

Results: Virological response (VR) (HBVDNA<300copies/mL) was achieved in 42%, 62%, 68% of HVL patients and in 67.

Prolonged Combination Therapy is More Effective than Monotherapy in Management of Chronic Hepatitis B Patients With Sustained Virological Response: An Experience From a 'Real-World' Clinical Setting.

Background: Little is known about the duration of combination therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and suboptimal response to nucleos(t)ide analogues(NAs) monotherapy.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess whether monotherapy could be used for treatment of CHB patients, who poorly responded to Adefovir Dipivoxil (ADV) but obtained good responses after at least 12-month lamivudine (LAM) or telbivudine (LdT) add-on therapy.

Patients And Methods: Forty-five patients were enrolled, and the baseline time-point was determined according to enrollment data.

Correlation between the suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 and 3 and hepatitis B virus: possible roles in the resistance to interferon treatment.

Background: The suppressor of cytokine signaling family (SOCS) is an important negative regulator in the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. This study was designed to explore the correlation between SOCS-1, 2 and 3, Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and interferon (IFN), and the relationship between SOCS and IFN therapeutic efficacy.

Methods: Four types of mouse models were established.

Impact of mild to moderate elevations of alanine aminotransferase on liver stiffness measurement in chronic hepatitis B patients during antiviral therapy.

Aim:   The accuracy of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis is affected by elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of mild to moderate elevations of ALT on LSM in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) during antiviral therapy.

Methods:   A total of 58 CHB patients with their ALT levels falling into the range of ×2 to ×10 the upper limit of normal (ULN) were recruited.

Treatment of HCV patients before and after renal transplantation.

Context: Patients with end-stage renal disease can easily acquire a hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection via several ways. An HCV infection is difficult to treat after renal transplantation due to the conflicting actions of immunosuppressant therapy to maintain the function of the transplanted kidney and viricidal interferon (IFN) or ribavirin (RBV) treatment. Antiviral therapy requires great caution to avoid the complex and potentially fatal pharmacological effects.