Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023890 (cirrhosis)
 42,195 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The superoxide anion generating capacity of polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) in patients with liver cirrhosis and the effect of lipopolysaccharide on rat PMNs were examined. Superoxide anion generating capacity of PMNs was measured as luminol-dependent photon emission (chemiluminescence) during phagocytosis of peptide in vitro. Chemiluminescence of PMNs from patients with liver cirrhosis was significantly enhanced compared with normal healthy volunteers, and endotoxemia was detected in 3 out of 20 cases of liver cirrhosis by the limulus gelatin test. Serial studies revealed that chemiluminescence of PMNs and endotoxin in plasma decreased after administration of polymyxin B (3 X 10(6) u/day). Chemiluminescence of rat PMNs was also markedly enhanced after the injection of lipopolysaccharide, and persisted for more than 8 days even though endotoxemia was not detected. These results indicate that the enhancement of chemiluminescence by PMNs is related to endotoxins spilling over from the liver in patients with liver cirrhosis.
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PMID:Superoxide anion generating capacity of polymorphonuclear cells in patients with liver cirrhosis. 300 57

Superoxide (O2-) and nitric oxide (NO) production by polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNs) and monocytes in patients with liver cirrhosis were evaluated. PMNs obtained from cirrhotic patients were less effective than those from controls in producing O2- after stimulation with opsonized zymosan, while they were more effective in producing NO, as shown by the inhibition of platelet aggregation and by the increase in cGMP content. NO synthase activity was higher in leukocytes from cirrhotic patients than in controls. A correlation was found between the cardiac index and the observed changes in the inflammatory cells.
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PMID:Changes in the production of nitric oxide and superoxide by inflammatory cells in liver cirrhosis. 761 30

The main pathway for the hepatic oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde proceeds via ADH and is associated with the reduction of NAD to NADH; the latter produces a striking redox change with various associated metabolic disorders. NADH also inhibits xanthine dehydrogenase activity, resulting in a shift of purine oxidation to xanthine oxidase, thereby promoting the generation of oxygen-free radical species. NADH also supports microsomal oxidations, including that of ethanol, in part via transhydrogenation to NADPH. In addition to the classic alcohol dehydrogenase pathway, ethanol can also be reduced by an accessory but inducible microsomal ethanoloxidizing system. This induction is associated with proliferation of the endoplasmic reticulum, both in experimental animals and in humans, and is accompanied by increased oxidation of NADPH with resulting H2O2 generation. There is also a concomitant 4- to 10-fold induction of cytochrome P4502E1 (2E1) both in rats and in humans, with hepatic perivenular preponderance. This 2E1 induction contributes to the well-known lipid peroxidation associated with alcoholic liver injury, as demonstrated by increased rates of superoxide radical production and lipid peroxidation correlating with the amount of 2E1 in liver microsomal preparations and the inhibition of lipid peroxidation in liver microsomes by antibodies against 2E1 in control and ethanol-fed rats. Indeed, 2E1 is rather "leaky" and its operation results in a significant release of free radicals. In addition, induction of this microsomal system results in enhanced acetaldehyde production, which in turn impairs defense systems against oxidative stress. For instance, it decreases GSH by various mechanisms, including binding to cysteine or by provoking its leakage out of the mitochondria and of the cell. Hepatic GSH depletion after chronic alcohol consumption was shown both in experimental animals and in humans. Alcohol-induced increased GSH turnover was demonstrated indirectly by a rise in alpha-amino-n-butyric acid in rats and baboons and in volunteers given alcohol. The ultimate precursor of cysteine (one of the three amino acids of GSH) is methionine. Methionine, however, must be first activated to S-adenosylmethionine by an enzyme which is depressed by alcoholic liver disease. This block can be bypassed by SAMe administration which restores hepatic SAMe levels and attenuates parameters of ethanol-induced liver injury significantly such as the increase in circulating transaminases, mitochondrial lesions, and leakage of mitochondrial enzymes (e.g., glutamic dehydrogenase) into the bloodstream. SAMe also contributes to the methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine to phosphatidylcholine. The methyltransferase involved is strikingly depressed by alcohol consumption, but this can be corrected, and hepatic phosphatidylcholine levels restored, by the administration of a mixture of polyunsaturated phospholipids (polyenylphosphatidylcholine). In addition, PPC provided total protection against alcohol-induced septal fibrosis and cirrhosis in the baboon and it abolished an associated twofold rise in hepatic F2-isoprostanes, a product of lipid peroxidation. A similar effect was observed in rats given CCl4. Thus, PPC prevented CCl4- and alcohol-induced lipid peroxidation in rats and baboons, respectively, while it attenuated the associated liver injury. Similar studies are ongoing in humans.
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PMID:Role of oxidative stress and antioxidant therapy in alcoholic and nonalcoholic liver diseases. 889 26

Antioxidants are of great interest because of their involvement in important biological and industrial processes. According to Halliwell antioxidants are substances that at low concentration significantly delay or prevent oxidation. Chemically, oxidation is a process in which a loss of electrons occurs. Oxidants play a significant role in the pathogenesis of a number of disorders leading to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress may be defined as an imbalance between cellular production of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defense mechanisms. ROS (e.g., superoxide radical, peroxynitryl, hydroxyl radical and hydrogen peroxide) are constantly produced as a result of metabolic reactions in living systems. Oxidative damage caused by ROS is responsible for many degenerative diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, cirrhosis, Alzheimer's and inflammatory diseases. The aim of this review is to describe recent developments in the study of the antioxidant activity of thiazole and thiazolidinone derivatives, which are the core structure in a variety of pharmaceuticals with a broad spectrum of biological activity and their role in preventing the formation of ROS.
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PMID:Thiazoles and thiazolidinones as antioxidants. 2383 82

Alcoholic liver disease is the result of cascade events, which clinically first lead to alcoholic fatty liver, and then mostly via alcoholic steatohepatitis or alcoholic hepatitis potentially to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Pathogenetic events are linked to the metabolism of ethanol and acetaldehyde as its first oxidation product generated via hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system (MEOS), which depends on cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP 2E1), and is inducible by chronic alcohol use. MEOS induction accelerates the metabolism of ethanol to acetaldehyde that facilitates organ injury including the liver, and it produces via CYP 2E1 many reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as ethoxy radical, hydroxyethyl radical, acetyl radical, singlet radical, superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, alkoxyl radical, and peroxyl radical. These attack hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, stellate cells, and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, and their signaling mediators such as interleukins, interferons, and growth factors, help to initiate liver injury including fibrosis and cirrhosis in susceptible individuals with specific risk factors. Through CYP 2E1-dependent ROS, more evidence is emerging that alcohol generates lipid peroxides and modifies the intestinal microbiome, thereby stimulating actions of endotoxins produced by intestinal bacteria; lipid peroxides and endotoxins are potential causes that are involved in alcoholic liver injury. Alcohol modifies SIRT1 (Sirtuin-1; derived from Silent mating type Information Regulation) and SIRT2, and most importantly, the innate and adapted immune systems, which may explain the individual differences of injury susceptibility. Metabolic pathways are also influenced by circadian rhythms, specific conditions known from living organisms including plants. Open for discussion is a 5-hit working hypothesis, attempting to define key elements involved in injury progression. In essence, although abundant biochemical mechanisms are proposed for the initiation and perpetuation of liver injury, patients with an alcohol problem benefit from permanent alcohol abstinence alone.
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PMID:Alcoholic Liver Disease: Alcohol Metabolism, Cascade of Molecular Mechanisms, Cellular Targets, and Clinical Aspects. 3042 81