Secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), which functions in tissue remodeling, has been reported to be expressed by myofibroblasts in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This study aimed to reveal its expression in chronic hepatitis. Immuno-light and electron microscopy demonstrated that SPARC was expressed by nerve fibers and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in the liver parenchyma and myofibroblasts in the fibrous septa. Reaction products were localized in the rough endoplasmic reticulum and nuclear envelope. Serial section analysis demonstrated that SPARC, platelet-derived growth factor receptor-beta, and alpha-smooth muscle actin were co-expressed by HSCs. Quantitative analysis demonstrated that, while SPARC-positive HSCs were sparse in control livers, they significantly increased in number in the livers with chronic hepatitis. There were, however, no significant differences in number among the grades of activity, the stages of fibrosis, or etiology (virus-infected or autoimmune, hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus). In liver cirrhosis, however, they significantly decreased in number. The present results indicate that SPARC is expressed by activated HSCs in chronic hepatitis, suggesting the involvement of SPARC in hepatic fibrogenesis after chronic injuries.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00428-002-0631-z | DOI Listing |
Inflammopharmacology
January 2025
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tanta University, El-Gharbia Government, Tanta, Egypt.
Objective: This study aimed to assess the potential antifibrotic impact of zinc sulfate in chronic Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) patients receiving direct-acting antiviral therapy.
Methods: This randomized controlled study included 50 chronic HCV-infected patients with fibrosis stage (F1 & F2). Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: Group 1 (Control group, n = 25) received standard direct-acting antiviral therapy for 3 months, while Group 2 (Zinc group, n = 25) received 50 mg/day of zinc sulfate in addition to the standard direct-acting antiviral therapy for the same duration.
Zhonghua Gan Zang Bing Za Zhi
December 2024
Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Yichun People's Hospital, Yichun336000, China.
To compare the effectiveness and safety profile of tenofovir amibufenamide (TMF) and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), especially the effects on lipid metabolism in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. A retrospective study was conducted on the virological response rate, biochemical response rate, renal function indicators, and lipid metabolism status of 159 cases with chronic hepatitis B (72 cases with TMF and 87 cases with TAF) after 48 weeks of antiviral treatment. The effects of the two drugs on lipid metabolism were further explored through cell and animal experiments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Mol Hepatol
January 2025
Department of Internal Medicine, Institute for Digestive Research, Digestive Disease Center, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Background/aims: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) effectively eradicate hepatitis C virus (HCV). This study investigated whether metabolic dysfunction influences the likelihood of fibrosis regression after DAA treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC).
Methods: This multicenter, retrospective study included 8,819 patients diagnosed with CHC who were treated with DAAs and achieved a sustained virological response (SVR) between January 2014 and December 2022.
J Comput Assist Tomogr
December 2024
From the Functional Department, Leshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Leshan, China.
Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of standardized semiquantitative scoring of color Doppler ultrasound combined with liver stiffness measurement (LSM) of sound touch elastography (STE) in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, providing a reference for the liver fibrosis diagnosis.
Methods: We performed ultrasound and STE on CHB patients, with liver biopsies as the benchmark. We compared the differences in ultrasound standardized semiquantitative scoring and LSM among patients with different stages of liver fibrosis, and evaluated the diagnostic efficacy of significant liver fibrosis using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the ROC curve alone or in combination.
J Viral Hepat
February 2025
Liver Unit, Birmingham Children's Hospital, Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK.
Hepatitis B elimination objectives can only be realised if new patient linkage to care is matched by long-term patient retention in care. We previously showed in adult chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients that retention in care was inferior in younger patients and in patients from non-Asian ethnicities. The present study explores further the rates and determinants of loss to follow-up in a cohort of 271 young patients (aged 16-21 years at baseline).
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