Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0015695 (fatty liver)
 13,941 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Lysosome are subcellular particles in which several acid hydrolases of various specificities are localized. The role of lysosome in cellular physiology and pathology has drawn considerable recent attention by several groups of investigators. The purpose of this study was to investigate the activities of lysosomal enzymes--acid phosphatase, beta-glucuronidase, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase--in hepatic disorders. 1) The serum levels of beta-glucuronidase and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase were significantly elevated in patients with diseases of the hepatobiliary system. 2) N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase activity in urine specimens from patients with diseases of the hepatobiliary system was found to be significantly higher than in urine specimens from normal adults. 3) Male albino rats of 150 approximately 200 g body weight were used. CCl4 was injected intraperitoneally (dose 0.1 ml of CCl4 per 100 g body weight twice a week for eight weeks). The free activities of lysosomal enzyme were increased and high free/total activity ratios were found in the liver lysosomal fraction of CCl4 intoxicated rats. The results of these experiment indicated that the membranes of lysosome were more permeable to their enzymes, and the release of these enzymes were found in the experimental fatty liver by CCl4. 4) Corticosteroids and chloroquine stabilized rat liver lysosome in vitro from the labilizing influence of incubation at 37 degrees C. 5) The administration of chloroquine to CCl4 intoxicated rats did not cause any well-expressed stabilization of lysosomes. 6) When alpha-Tocopherol was administrated to CCl4 intoxicated rats, the decrease of bound activity and increase of free activity in lysosomal fraction, and increase of acid hydrolases, GOT and GPT in serum were inhibited.
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PMID:[Studies on lysosomes in hepatic disorders (author's transl)]. 48

No published reports compare hepatic alpha-tocopherol (adjusted for hepatic lipid content) with indicators of blood alpha-tocopherol in adult patients with various liver diseases. alpha-Tocopherol was simultaneously measured in liver biopsy tissues and blood from 66 subjects (9 comparison patients hospitalized for biliary tract surgery, 13 with chronic persistent hepatitis, 9 with chronic aggressive hepatitis, 10 with acute hepatitis, 10 with cirrhosis, 7 with both cirrhosis and hepatic cell carcinoma, and 8 with fatty liver). Hepatic, erythrocyte, and plasma alpha-tocopherol concentrations were measured, as were hepatic and serum lipids. The ratios of alpha-tocopherol to total lipid concentrations (Toc/TL ratios) in plasma and liver were calculated. In both comparison patients and patients with chronic persistent hepatitis and fatty liver, hepatic alpha-tocopherol concentrations were strongly correlated with hepatic triglyceride and total lipid concentrations (r = .72, P < .001; and r = .75, P < .001, respectively); the relationships (slopes) when hepatic alpha-tocopherol concentrations were compared with hepatic triglyceride and total lipid concentrations were similar in these patients and in all subjects. No strong correlations were found between hepatic and blood alpha-tocopherol parameters in all subjects. These results suggest that hepatic alpha-tocopherol is present at similar concentrations in triglycerides as well as total cholesterol and phospholipids and that neither plasma Toc/TL ratios nor erythrocyte alpha-tocopherol concentrations are useful indicators of hepatic vitamin E status. The hepatic Toc/TL ratio may be useful to assess total hepatic vitamin E status.
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PMID:Assessment of hepatic vitamin E status in adult patients with liver disease. 925 50

The most common cause of hepatic fibrosis is currently chronic HCV infection, the characteristic feature of which is hepatic steatosis. Hepatic steatosis leads to an increase in lipid peroxidation in hepatocytes, which in turn activates hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). HSCs are also regarded as the primary target cells for inflammatory stimuli, and produce extracellular matrix components. It should be noted that transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) is a potent fibrogenic cytokine produced by Kupffer cells and HSCs. There are several approaches to inhibit TGF-beta; use of decorin, soluble receptors, and gene therapy approaches. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a hepatotrophic factor for liver regeneration and seems to suppress hepatic fibrogenesis in animals. HOE 77, Safironil, and S 4682 are inhibitors of prolyl 4-hydroxylase, which is essential for thecollagen formation. Although HOE 77, Safironil, and S 4682 seem to work by inhibiting HSC activation, further studies will be required before their clinical application. alpha-Tocopherol, retinyl palmitate, and silybinin reduce lipid peroxidation and attenuate HSC activation in experimental models. Retinyl palmitate is the main storage type for retinoids in HSCs. Silymarin is extracted from milk thistle, the principle component of which is the silybinin. Unfortunately, they have had mixed effects in human liver diseases. A Japanese herbal medicine Sho-saiko-to functions as a potent antifibrosuppressant via the inhibition of oxidative stress in hepatocytes and HSCs. Its active components are baicalin and baicalein of flavonoids with chemical structures very similar to silybinin. Understanding the basic mechanisms underlying the HCV-mediated fibrogenesis provides valuable information on the search for effective antifibrogenic therapies.
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PMID:Antifibrogenic therapies in chronic HCV infection. 1245 17

Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) has demonstrated antioxidant activity and gene-regulatory properties. d-Galactosamine (D-GalN)-induced cell death is mediated by nitric oxide in hepatocytes, and it is associated with hepatic steatosis. The beneficial properties of alpha-tocopherol and their relation to oxidative stress and gene regulation were assessed in D-GalN-induced cell death. Hepatocytes were isolated from human liver resections by a collagenase perfusion technique. alpha-Tocopherol (50 microM) was administered at the advanced stages (10 h) of D-GalN-induced cell death in cultured hepatocytes. Cell death, oxidative stress, alpha-tocopherol metabolism, and NF-kappaB-, pregnane X receptor (PXR)-, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR-alpha)-associated gene regulation were estimated in the hepatocytes. D-GalN increased cell death and alpha-tocopherol metabolism. alpha-Tocopherol exerted a moderate beneficial effect against apoptosis and necrosis induced by D-GalN. Induction (rifampicin) or inhibition (ketoconazole) of alpha-tocopherol metabolism and overexpression of PXR showed that the increase in PXR-related CYP3A4 expression caused by alpha-tocopherol enhanced cell death in hepatocytes. Nevertheless, the reduction in NF-kappaB activation and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and the enhancement of PPAR-alpha and carnitine palmitoyl transferase gene expression by alpha-tocopherol may be relevant for cell survival. In conclusion, the cytoprotective properties of alpha-tocopherol are mostly related to gene regulation rather than to antioxidant activity in toxin-induced cell death in hepatocytes.
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PMID:Cytoprotective properties of alpha-tocopherol are related to gene regulation in cultured D-galactosamine-treated human hepatocytes. 1793 89

This study determined the effects of alpha- and gamma-tocopherol supplementation on metabolic control and oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats. Blood glucose, haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), urinary protein, plasma free fatty acid, triacylglycerol and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels in OLETF rats were significantly higher than in non-diabetic control Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats. Alpha-tocopherol inhibited the increase in urinary protein, blood glucose, HbA1c and PAI-1 levels, but gamma-tocopherol did not. Plasma and hepatic lipid peroxidation and hepatic steatosis were increased in OLETF rats. alpha-Tocopherol decreased lipid peroxidation. Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production and uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) expression were significantly increased in the heart and aorta of OLETF rats compared with LETO rats. Endothelial NO synthase and aortic nitrotyrosine were increased in OLETF rats. In contrast, the expression of phosphorylated vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein and glucose transporter 4 in the aorta was significantly decreased in OLETF rats. These abnormalities were reversed by alpha-tocopherol. These findings suggest that alpha-tocopherol may prevent cardiovascular tissues from oxidative stress and insulin signalling disorder resulting from diabetes mellitus.
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PMID:Supplementation of alpha-tocopherol improves cardiovascular risk factors via the insulin signalling pathway and reduction of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species in type II diabetic rats. 1834 21