Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019158 (hepatitis)
 30,205 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

To explore induced islet neogenesis in the liver as a strategy for the treatment of diabetes, we used helper-dependent adenovirus (HDAD) to deliver the pancreatic duodenal homeobox-1 gene (Ipf1; also known as Pdx-1) to streptozotocin (STZ)-treated diabetic mice. HDAD is relatively nontoxic as it is devoid of genes encoding viral protein. Mice treated with HDAD-Ipf1 developed fulminant hepatitis, however, because of the exocrine-differentiating activity of Ipf1. The diabetes of STZ mice was partially reversed by HDAD-mediated transfer of NeuroD (Neurod), a factor downstream of Ipf1, and completely reversed by a combination of Neurod and betacellulin (Btc), without producing hepatitis. Treated mice were healthy and normoglycemic for the duration of the experiment (>120 d). We detected in the liver insulin and other islet-specific transcripts, including proinsulin-processing enzymes, beta-cell-specific glucokinase and sulfonylurea receptor. Immunocytochemistry detected the presence of insulin, glucagon, pancreatic polypeptide and somatostatin-producing cells organized into islet clusters; immuno-electron microscopy showed typical insulin-containing granules. Our data suggest that Neurod-Btc gene therapy is a promising regimen to induce islet neogenesis for the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes.
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PMID:NeuroD-betacellulin gene therapy induces islet neogenesis in the liver and reverses diabetes in mice. 1272 55

Liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1, Nr5a2) is an orphan nuclear receptor mainly expressed in tissues of endodermal origin, where its physiological role has been extensively studied. LRH-1 has been implicated in liver cell differentiation and proliferation, as well as glucose, lipid, and bile acid metabolism. In addition, increasing evidence highlights its role in immunoregulatory processes via glucocorticoid synthesis in the intestinal epithelium. Although the direct function of LRH-1 in immune cells is fairly elucidated, a role of LRH-1 in the regulation of macrophage differentiation has been recently reported. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of LRH-1 in the regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine production in macrophages. Our data demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition, along with LRH-1 knockdown, significantly reduced the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the macrophage line RAW 264.7 cells, as well as in primary murine macrophages. This inhibitory effect was found to be independent of defects of LRH-1-regulated cell proliferation or toxic effects of the LRH-1 inhibitors. In contrast, LRH-1 inhibition reduced the mitochondrial ATP production and metabolism of macrophages through downregulation of the LRH-1 targets glucokinase and glutminase-2, and thus impairing the LPS-induced macrophage activation. Interestingly, in vivo pharmacological inhibition of LRH-1 also resulted in reduced tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production and associated decreased liver damage in a macrophage- and TNF-dependent mouse model of hepatitis. Noteworthy, despite hepatocytes expressing high levels of LRH-1, pharmacological inhibition of LRH-1 per se did not cause any obvious liver damage. Therefore, this study proposes LRH-1 as an emerging therapeutic target in the treatment of inflammatory disorders, especially where macrophages and cytokines critically decide the extent of inflammation.
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PMID:Pharmacological LRH-1/Nr5a2 inhibition limits pro-inflammatory cytokine production in macrophages and associated experimental hepatitis. 3211 18