Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.6.1.2 (alanine aminotransferase)
26,722 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Serum hepatic fibrosis markers (7s domain of type IV collagen, N-terminal peptide of type III procollagen, and hyaluronate) were determined during and after a 6-month interferon treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C. Changes in these markers were compared among the patients who showed a sustained normalization of serum alanine transaminase (ALT) levels with and without eradication of serum hepatitis C virus RNA (complete responders and biochemical responders) and nonresponders. In the case of complete responders, the serum 7s domain of type IV collagen and the N-terminal peptide of type III procollagen levels decreased at the end and 24 weeks after the end of the treatment. Hyaluronate levels were significantly decreased 24 weeks after the end of the treatment, as compared with those prior to the treatment. During and after interferon treatment, changes in these markers in the case of biochemical responders were nearly the same as those in the complete responders. These results suggest that serum hepatic fibrosis markers decrease in patients with chronic hepatitis C who show a sustained normalization of ALT after interferon treatment, even if serum hepatitis C virus RNA fails to be eradicated.
...
PMID:Changes in serum hepatic fibrosis markers in biochemical responders to interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C. 1070 9

This study was performed to determine whether human urinary soluble thrombomodulin plays a role in liver ischemia-reperfusion injury. Liver ischemia was induced in two groups of dogs. Group 1 was exposed to 60 min ischemia, and group 2 was exposed to 60 min ischemia after preischemic administration of human urinary soluble thrombomodulin. In group 1, the thrombin-antithrombin complex and hyaluronic acid were significantly elevated after ischemia, compared with the preischemic values. While liver issue blood flow and the plasmin-alpha(2)-plasmin inhibitor complex significantly decreased, AST, ALT and m-AST dramatically increased after reperfusion. In group 2, the increase in the thrombin-antithrombin complex and hyaluronic acid was significantly suppressed, and AST, ALT and liver tissue blood flow significantly improved, compared with group 1. Histologically, in group 2, the hepatic tissue structure, including endothelial cells, was relatively intact. These findings suggest that administration of thrombomodulin inhibits endothelial cell injury and coagulopathy and offers protection from liver ischemia-reperfusion injury.
...
PMID:Protective effect of human urinary thrombomodulin on ischemia- reperfusion injury in the canine liver. 1081 Feb 13

In vivo and in vitro studies were conducted using transgenic mice with 1.8-fold increased SOD activity in the cytoplasmic fraction compared to normal mice in order to evaluate the role of cytoplasmic superoxide dismutase (SOD) in hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury. In the in vivo study, after inducing 15 min 70% partial hepatic ischemia followed by 45 min reperfusion, we determined the plasma levels of ALT, hyaluronic acid, and phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide (PCOOH) as the membranous lipoperoxide of the hepatic tissue. In addition, in vitro ischemia-reperfusion studies for cultured hepatocytes were conducted in an anaerobic chamber that could create a hypoxic or oxygen-rich environment in order to clarify the amelioration of reperfusion injuries in the SOD rich hepatocytes. High levels of ALT and PCOOH were found as a result of reperfusion in normal mice, while a suppression of the increase in these levels was noted in the transgenic mice. In both groups, the hyaluronic acid levels were not modified. These results suggest that intracellular superoxide production is involved in the mechanism of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury, and that an improvement of the ability to eliminate intracellular superoxide species can contribute to the prevention of reperfusion injury.
...
PMID:The involvement of the intracellular superoxide production system in hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury. In vivo and in vitro experiments using transgenic mice manifesting excessive CuZn-SOD activity. 1105 77

The participation of cytokines in the early stage mechanism of hepatocyte proliferation has already attracted attention. We investigated the effect of methylprednisolone (MDS), which inhibits the inflammatory response, given before and after a 70% partial hepatectomy in rats on the kinetics of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and Interleukin-6, liver cell function and the rate of liver regeneration. Serum Interleukin-6 levels of the MDS groups were significantly lower than those of the control group. Serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and hyaluronic acid levels were also significantly decreased, however, the serum albumin level showed high values in the MDS groups. In the MDS groups, MIB-5 labeling indices, a novel antibody reactive with the equivalent Ki-67 protein, which detects immunohistochemically all active parts of the cell cycle in the rat liver, were more pronounced than in the control group at an earlier time. However, in regard to 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU), there were no significant differences among the three groups. There were no differences in residual liver weight/body weight between the three groups after 336 h. In our study, MDS administration before or after a 70% partial hepatectomy decreased serum Interleukin-6 levels, and inhibited hepatic dysfunction. Therefore, we considered that beneficial effects of physiological doses of MDS in the peri-operative period should be confirmed in humans.
...
PMID:Effect of methylprednisolone on the kinetics of cytokines and liver function of regenerating liver in rats. 1113 81

The aim of this study was to monitor hepatic function in patients with pneumonia meeting the sepsis criteria of the American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine (ACCP/SCCM) and to determine if hepatic dysfunction is related to the systemic inflammatory response. Twenty patients were recruited. The monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) test was carried out on days 1-10 after admittance to the intensive care unit. Blood samples for determination of serum concentrations of hyaluronic acid, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10 and conventional liver function tests (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, bilirubin, albumin) were also drawn. Patients were classified into two groups according to illness severity estimated by the simplified acute physiology score (SAPS II) on the day of admission. Patients in group I (n=10) had a SAPS II probability of mortality >3% while those in group II (n=10) had a SAPS II < 3%. The MEGX level over the first five days was significantly lower in group I than in group II (p<0.0001). Significant inverse correlations during the first 5 days were observed between the MEGX 30 min test results and IL-6, CRP and SAPS II and more modest correlations with hyaluronic acid (p=0.0025) and IL-10 (p=0.021). The conventional liver function tests did not differ between the two groups and were mostly within the respective reference ranges. We conclude that the MEGX test is a sensitive marker of liver dysfunction early in sepsis and that low MEGX values are associated with an enhanced inflammatory response.
...
PMID:The monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) test as a marker of hepatic dysfunction in septic patients with pneumonia. 1115 41

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major problem associated with hemodialysis. The extent of liver damage in hemodialysis patients with chronic HCV infection has not been thoroughly documented. The aim of this study was to evaluate liver damage of hemodialysis patients infected with HCV. A total of 233 hemodialysis patients were categorized into two groups at entry: group X, 80 positive for serum HCV RNA, and group Y, 153 negative for serum HCV RNA. All were tested for serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) serially from 1989 to 1998, and serum hyaluronic acid (HA), serum type-IV collagen (IV-C), platelet counts, and ultrasonographic examination of the liver was done in 1998. In group X, 61.3% had continuously abnormal ALT levels for over six months followed by normal ALT levels. Of the group X patients, 11.3% had abnormal ALT levels in 1998, and in three, hepatocellular carcinoma occurred. Mean HA and IV-C levels in group X (648.8 and 188.7 ng/ml, respectively) were significantly higher than in group Y (213.1 and 165.5 ng/ml, respectively) (P < 0.05). Ultrasonographic findings significantly correlated with serum HA level and platelet counts and showed significantly more abnormalities in group X than in group Y (P < 0.05). From these findings, a combined examination with ultrasonography and serum fibrogenesis markers is useful for detection of liver damage in hemodialysis patients with HCV viremia.
...
PMID:Liver damage in hemodialysis patients with hepatitis C virus viremia: a prospective 10-year study. 1121 43

48 patients with liver fibrosis due to hepatitis B were treated for 2 years with the drugs for tonifying the kidney, supplementing qi, cooling and invigorating the blood and detoxification. The symptoms were markedly improved, and serum ALT and bilirubin were recovered and kept normal in most of the cases. The mean levels of serum hyaluronic acid, procollagen peptide III and circulating immune complex were decreased and returned to normal after the treatment. B-ultrasonography showed that the portal vein kept in normal size in 82% of the patients, the enlarged portal vein diminished in diameter, and the enlarged spleen reduced.
...
PMID:Clinical observation on the long-term therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of liver fibrosis. 1126 73

Ischemia reperfusion (I-R) of the liver induces various events leading to cell death (apoptosis) and subsequent cells proliferation. Recent experimental studies have described the protective effect of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) on I-R injury of the liver. However, the mechanisms involved in this protection remain unknown. The protein products of immediate early genes (IEGs) behave as crucial transcriptional regulators not only in apoptosis but also in cell proliferation. Here, we evaluated the effects of IPC on IEG transcription after I-R injury, using a rat liver I-R injury model. Injury to hepatocytes was evaluated by measuring serum levels of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and that to endothelial cells by plasma concentration of hyaluronic acid (HA). The extent of necrosis was evaluated by H&E staining, while cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and terminal deoxy(d)-UTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) staining, respectively. Alterations in the transcription of IEGs (c-fos and c-jun) were examined by Northern blotting. Rats subjected to 40-min liver ischemia, preceded by 10-min preconditioning, showed significantly lower AST, ALT, LDH, and HA levels at 6 h after I-R than untreated animals (P < 0.05; n at least 5 rats per group). The percentage of necrotic areas at 24 h after I-R was significantly lower in IPC-treated animals than in the controls. The numbers of apoptotic cells at 24 h after I-R and the numbers of PCNA-positive cells at 24 and 48 h after I-R were significantly lower in IPC-treated rats than in controls. Transcription levels of IEGs were low in IPC-treated rats, particularly c-jun at 1 and 1.5 h after I-R (P < 0.05). Our results indicate that IPC provides a significant protective effect on for liver cells against I-R injury and that its effect is evidenced by a significant decrease in the transcription levels of IEGs following the insult.
...
PMID:Effects of preconditioning on ischemia/reperfusion injury of hepatocytes determined by immediate early gene transcription. 1170 57

AIM:To investigate effect of losartan, an AT1 receptor antagonist, on hepatic fibrosis induced by CCl(4); and to determine whether or not AT1 receptors are expressed on hepatic stellate cells. METHODS AND RESULTS:Fifty male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing (180 plus minus20)g, were randomized into five groups (control group, model group, and three losartan treated groups), in which all rats were given the subcutaneous injection of 40% CCl(4)(every 3 days for 6 weeks) except for rats of control group. Rats of losartan-treated groups were treated with losartan (20 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, daily gavage). After 6 weeks liver tissue and serum samples of all rats were examined. Serum hyaluronic acid (HA), procollagen type III (PC III) were detected by radioimmunoassays. van Giesion collagen staining was used to evaluate the extracellular matrix of rats with liver fibrosis. The expression of AT1 receptors, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), and alpha-smooth muscle actinalpha-SMA) in liver tissue were determined by immunohistochemical techniques. Compared with model group, serum ALT and AST of losartan-treated groups were significantly reduced (italic>t = 4.20,P < 0.01 and italic>t = 4.57,P < 0.01). Serum HA and PC III also had significant differences (italic>t = 3.53,P<0.01 and t=2.20, P<0.05). The degree of fibrosis was improved by losartan and correlated with the expressions of AT1 receptors, TGF-beta, and alpha-SMA in liver tissue.CONCLUSION:AT1 receptor antagonist, losartan, could limit the progression of the hepatic fibrosis induced by CCl(4). The mechanism may be related to the decrease in the expression of AT1 receptors and TGF-beta, ameliorating the injury of hepatocytes; activation of local renin-angiotensin system might relate to hepatic fibrosis; and during progression of fibrosis, activated hepatic stellate cells might express AT1 receptors.
...
PMID:Effects of AT1 receptor antagonist, losartan, on rat hepatic fibrosis induced by CCl(4). 1181 43

Monocrotaline (MCT) is a pyrrolizidine alkaloid plant toxin that produces hepatotoxicity in humans and animals. Human exposure to MCT occurs through consumption of contaminated grains and herbal medicines. Administration of MCT to rats stimulates activation of the coagulation system and fibrin deposition in the liver. Fibrin deposition occurs simultaneously with endothelial cell damage and prior to hepatic parenchymal cell injury. Accordingly, the hypothesis that activation of the coagulation system is required for MCT-induced liver injury was tested. Treatment of rats with either heparin or warfarin significantly reduced MCT-induced activation of the coagulation system and the increase in alanine aminotransferase activity in the plasma, a biomarker of hepatic parenchymal cell injury. Histopathological examination of liver sections revealed that heparin decreased parenchymal cell necrosis but did not affect central venular endothelial cell damage, congestion and dilation of the sinusoids, or hemorrhage in the liver. Morphometric analysis revealed that 28% of the area of livers from MCT-treated rats contained regions of coagulative necrosis, whereas less than 5% of the area of livers from rats treated with MCT and heparin contained these regions. By contrast, neither heparin nor warfarin prevented MCT-induced damage to endothelial cells in the liver as estimated by increased plasma hyaluronic acid concentration. These results suggest that activation of the coagulation system is required for MCT-induced parenchymal cell injury but not endothelial cell injury in the liver.
...
PMID:Anticoagulants prevent monocrotaline-induced hepatic parenchymal cell injury but not endothelial cell injury in the rat. 1200 58


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>