Association between serum lipid profile and liver fibrosis in patients infected with Schistosoma japonicum.

Background: Liver fibrosis is thought to have a close relationship with lipid profile. The possible association between lipids and liver fibrosis of different etiologies has been widely explored. However, the association between lipids and liver fibrosis in patients infected with Schistosoma japonicum remains unclear.

Cross-talk between hepatic stellate cells and T lymphocytes in liver fibrosis.

Background: Fibrosis results from inflammation and healing following injury. The imbalance between extracellular matrix (ECM) secretion and degradation leads to the ECM accumulation and liver fibrosis. This process is regulated by immune cells.

Incorporation of Gene-Environment Interaction Terms Improved the Predictive Accuracy of Tacrolimus Stable Dose Algorithms in Chinese Adult Renal Transplant Recipients.

The narrow therapeutic window of tacrolimus necessitates daily monitoring and predictive algorithms based on genetic and nongenetic factors. In this study, we constructed predictive algorithms for tacrolimus stable dose in a retrospective cohort of 1045 Chinese renal transplant recipients. All patients were genotyped for CYP3A4 20230T>C (rs2242480), CYP3A4 T>C (rs4646437), CYP3A5*3 6898A>G (rs776746), ABCB1 129T>C (rs3213619); ABCB1 c.

Corrigendum: Application of Machine-Learning Models to Predict Tacrolimus Stable Dose in Renal Transplant Recipients.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/srep42192.

Phosphorylated AKT expression in tumor-adjacent normal tissue is associated with poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The AKT pathway serves important roles in tumor cell growth. Its overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in a number of types of cancer; however, the role of AKT in the role of the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. The present study was undertaken to explore the clinical relevance of phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) in HCC.

Infected T98G glioblastoma cells support human cytomegalovirus reactivation from latency.

T98G cells have been shown to support long-term human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) genome maintenance without infectious virus release. However, it remains unclear whether these viral genomes could be reactivated. To address this question, a recombinant HCMV (rHCMV) containing a GFP gene was used to infect T98G cells, and the infected cells absent of infectious virus production were designated T98G-LrV.

The effects of the location of cancer stem cell marker CD133 on the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Background: CD133 (prominin-1) is widely believed to be a cancer stem cell marker in various solid tumor types, and CD133 has been correlated with tumor-initiating capacity. Recently, the nuclear location of CD133 expression in tumors has been discussed, but hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been included in these discussions. The goal of this study was to investigate the location of CD133 expression in HCC and this location's potential value as a prognostic indicator of survival in patients with HCC.

Anterograde monosynaptic transneuronal tracers derived from herpes simplex virus 1 strain H129.

Background: Herpes simplex virus type 1 strain 129 (H129) has represented a promising anterograde neuronal circuit tracing tool, which complements the existing retrograde tracers. However, the current H129 derived tracers are multisynaptic, neither bright enough to label the details of neurons nor capable of determining direct projection targets as monosynaptic tracer.

Methods: Based on the bacterial artificial chromosome of H129, we have generated a serial of recombinant viruses for neuronal circuit tracing.

IL-3 and CTLA4 gene polymorphisms may influence the tacrolimus dose requirement in Chinese kidney transplant recipients.

The highly variable pharmacokinetics and narrow therapeutic window of tacrolimus (TAC) has hampered its clinical use. Genetic polymorphisms may contribute to the variable response, but the evidence is not compelling, and the explanation is unclear. In this study we attempted to find previously unknown genetic factors that may influence the TAC dose requirements.

A Follow-Up Study on the Renal Protective Efficacy of Telbivudine for Hepatitis B Virus-Infected Taiwanese Patients After Living Donor Liver Transplant.

Objectives: Preservation of renal function is an important issue after living donor liver transplant. We aimed to examine the renal protective efficacy of telbivudine in hepatitis B virus-infected patients after living donor liver transplant.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective study, we compared 18 patients who received telbivudine 600 mg once per day and 23 patients who received entecavir 1 mg once per day after living donor liver transplant.

Predictors of Diarrhea after Hepatectomy and Its Impact on Gastrointestinal Quality of Life in Living Donors.

Background: Donor safety and preservation of donor health after living liver donation are of paramount importance. Diarrhea has a significant influence on gastrointestinal quality of life among donors who have undergone living donor hepatectomy. Thus, we aimed to investigate predictors of diarrhea after hepatectomy and its impact on gastrointestinal quality of life in living donors.

Tacrolimus decreases insulin sensitivity without reducing fasting insulin concentration: a 2-year follow-up study in kidney transplant recipients.

New Onset Diabetes after Transplantation (NODAT) is defined as sustained hyperglycemia developing in patients without diabetes history before transplantation. A cohort study was performed to access the effects of tacrolimus on insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity and consequently in the development of NODAT in kidney transplant recipients. Then, we further investigated the association between NODAT and single-nucleotide polymorphisms of IRS-1 and IRS-2 in renal allograft recipients.

MicroRNA‑144 suppresses tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting AKT3.

Aberrant expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been shown to be associated with the progression and metastasis of cancer. Dysregulation of miR‑144 has been observed in numerous types of cancer; however, the exact role of miR‑144 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. The present study observed that miR‑144 was downregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines.

miR-24 promotes the proliferation and invasion of HCC cells by targeting SOX7.

Accumulating evidence shows that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the development and progression of multiple tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recent studies have found that miR-24 acts as an oncogene in several tumors; however, the function of miR-24 in HCC remains unclear. In this study, we found that miR-24 was increased in HCC tissues and cell lines.

Effects of CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 polymorphisms on tacrolimus pharmacokinetics in Chinese adult renal transplant recipients: a population pharmacokinetic analysis.

Objective: Tacrolimus is used clinically for the long-term treatment of antirejection of transplanted organs in liver and kidney transplant recipients, although dose optimization is poorly managed. The aim of this study was to examine the association between tacrolimus pharmacokinetic variability and CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 genotypes by a population pharmacokinetic analysis based on routine drug monitoring data in adult renal transplant recipients.

Materials And Methods: Trough tacrolimus concentrations were obtained from 161 adult kidney transplant recipients after transplantation.

Risk factors for delayed graft function in cardiac death donor renal transplants.

Background: Delayed graft function (DGF) is common in kidney transplants from organ donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors. It is associated with various factors. Determination of center-specific risk factors may help to reduce the incidence of DGF and improve the transplantation results.

siRNA-mediated silencing of Notch-1 enhances docetaxel induced mitotic arrest and apoptosis in prostate cancer cells.

Purpose: Notch is an important signaling pathway that regulates cell fate, stem cell maintenance and the initiation of differentiation in many tissues. It has been reported that activation of Notch-1 contributes to tumorigenesis. However, whether Notch signaling might have a role in chemoresistance of prostate cancer is unclear.

Hepatic veins anatomy and piggy-back liver transplantation.

Background: The piggy-back caval anastomosis technique is widely used in orthotopic liver transplantation although it carries an increased risk of complications, including outflow obstruction and Budd-Chiari syndrome. The aim of this study is to clarify the anatomy and variations of hepatic veins (HVs) draining into the inferior vena cava (IVC), and to classify the surgical techniques of piggy-back liver transplantation (PBLT) based on the anatomy of HVs which can reduce the occurrence of complications.

Methods: PBLT was performed in 248 consecutive cases at our hospital from January 2004 to August 2011.