Treprostinil (Remodulin®) is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved prostacyclin analog to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. Recently, treprostinil has been investigated to reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) during transplantation, which currently has no approved treatment. A validated analytical method is necessary to measure treprostinil concentrations in biological specimens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic liver diseases, e.g., cholestasis, are negatively impacted by inflammation, which further aggravates liver injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) causes acute kidney injury as well as liver injury. Renal IRI depletes hepatic antioxidants, promotes hepatic inflammation and dysfunction through Tlr9 upregulation. There is no treatment available for liver injury during renal IRI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAccumulation of cytotoxic bile acids (BAs) during cholestasis can result in liver failure. Glucuronidation, a phase II metabolism pathway responsible for BA detoxification, is regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα). This study investigates the efficacy of adjunct fenofibrate therapy to up-regulate BA-glucuronidation and reduce serum BA toxicity during cholestasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a major factor contributing to acute kidney injury and it is associated with a high morbidity and mortality if untreated. Renal IRI depletes cellular and tissue adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which compromises mitochondrial function, further exacerbating renal tubular injury. Currently, no treatment for IRI is available.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a major factor causing acute kidney injury (AKI). No pharmacological treatments for prevention or amelioration of I/R-induced renal injury are available. Here we investigate the protective effects of treprostinil, a prostacyclin analog, against renal IRI in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCholestatic liver diseases result in the hepatic retention of bile acids, causing subsequent liver toxicity. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) regulates bile acid metabolism. In this retrospective observational study, we assessed the effects of fenofibrate (a PPARα agonist) therapy on bile acid metabolism when given to patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) who have had an incomplete response to Ursodiol monotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCholestasis, including primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), results from an impairment or disruption of bile production and causes intracellular retention of toxic bile constituents, including bile salts. If left untreated, cholestasis leads to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, which eventually results in liver failure and the need for liver transplantation. Currently, the only therapeutic option available for these patients is ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), which slows the progression of PBC, particularly in stage I and II of the disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Multidrug resistance transporter 3/ATP-binding cassette protein subfamily B4 (MDR3/ABCB4) is a critical determinant of biliary phosphatidylcholine (PC) secretion. Clinically, mutations and partial deficiencies in MDR3 result in cholestatic liver injury. Thus, MDR3 is a potential therapeutic target for cholestatic liver disease.
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