Circulating Citrate Is Reversibly Elevated in Patients with End-Stage Liver Disease: Association with All-Cause Mortality.

Circulating citrate may serve as a proxy for mitochondrial dysfunction which plays a role in the progression of end-stage liver disease (ESLD). This study aimed to determine the extent of alterations in circulating citrate in patients with ESLD, and examined its association with all-cause mortality among ESLD patients while on the waiting list for liver transplantation. Plasma citrate levels were measured using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in 129 ESLD patients (TransplantLines cohort study; NCT03272841) and compared to levels in 4837 participants of the community-dwelling PREVEND cohort.

Branched-chain amino acids and their metabolites decrease human and rat hepatic stellate cell activation.

Background: End-stage liver diseases (ESLDs) are a significant global health challenge due to their high prevalence and severe health impacts. Despite the severe outcomes associated with ESLDs, therapeutic options remain limited. Targeting the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), key drivers of extracellular matrix accumulation during liver injury presents a novel therapeutic approach.

Circulating Trimethylamine-N-Oxide Is Elevated in Liver Transplant Recipients.

Liver transplant recipients (LTRs) have lower long-term survival rates compared with the general population. This underscores the necessity for developing biomarkers to assess post-transplantation mortality. Here we compared plasma trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) levels with those in the general population, investigated its determinants, and interrogated its association with all-cause mortality in stable LTRs.

Branched Chain Amino Acids Are Associated with Physical Performance in Patients with End-Stage Liver Disease.

Decreased circulating branched chain amino acids (BCAA) represent a prominent change in amino acid profiles in patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD). These alterations are considered to contribute to sarcopenia and hepatic encephalopathy and may relate to poor prognosis. Here, we cross-sectionally analyzed the association between plasma BCAA levels and the severity of ESLD and muscle function in participants of the liver transplant subgroup of TransplantLines, enrolled between January 2017 and January 2020.