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Query: UMLS:C0023890 (cirrhosis)
 42,195 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Plasma amino-acid concentrations were measured in 167 patients with liver disease of varying aetiology and severity, all free of encephalopathy, and the results compared with those in 57 control subjects matched for age and sex. In the four groups of patients with chronic liver disease (26 patients with chronic active hepatitis, 23 with primary biliary cirrhosis, 11 with cryptogenic cirrhosis, and 48 with alcoholic hepatitis +/- cirrhosis) plasma concentrations of methionine were significantly increased, while concentrations of the three branched chain amino-acids were significantly reduced. In the first three groups of patients plasma concentrations of aspartate, serine, and one or both of the aromatic amino-acids tyrosine and phenylalanine were also significantly increased, while in the patients with alcoholic hepatitis +/- cirrhosis plasma concentrations of glycine, alanine, and phenylalanine were significantly reduced. In the three groups of patients with minimal, potentially reversible liver disease (31 patients with alcoholic fatty liver, 10 with viral hepatitis, and 18 with biliary disease) plasma concentrations of proline and the three branched chain amino-acids were significantly reduced. Patients with alcoholic fatty liver also showed significantly reduced plasma phenylalanine values. Most changes in plasma amino-acid concentrations in patients with chronic liver disease may be explained on the basis of impaired hepatic function, portal-systemic shunting of blood, and hyperinsulinaemia and hyperglucagonaemia. The changes in patients with minimal liver disease are less easily explained.
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PMID:Plasma amino-acid patterns in liver disease. 707 13

Based on the finding that prolyl hydroxylase, a key enzyme in collagen biosynthesis, is a constituent of the hepatic parenchymal cell, we have suggested that the hepatocyte may synthesize collagen (Exp. Cell Res. 123: 269-279, 1979). We now report that, consistent with this idea, collagen formation has been detected in primary nonproliferating cultures of isolated rat hepatocytes prepared from either normal liver or regenerated liver four days after partial hepatectomy. The characteristics of the radiolabeled collagen formed in two-day old cultures incubated for 24 hours in the presence of either [3H]-proline or [35S]-cystine were its resistance to pepsin and its susceptibility to degradation by highly purified, protease-free bacterial collagenase. The presence of fibroblasts in the hepatocyte cultures was excluded as an explanation for these results because we detected no type I collagen, a universal product of the cultured fibroblast. The initial low rates of synthesis of collagen relative to total cellular protein (0.1-0.4 percent) increased dramatically upon continued incubation of the cells reaching 0.31 and 0.81 percent in nine-day old cultures of normal or regenerated hepatocytes, respectively. This change was accompanied by the synthesis of an additional 100,000 molecular weight from of collagen, possibly type I or A, B. Morphologically, the hepatocytes progressively flattened and overlapped adjacent cells with time in culture. However, their identify as hepatocytes was confirmed by the fact that synthesis of fibrinogen, a liver-specific function, was maintained above initial levels throughout the experiment. We conclude that synthesis of collagen is a constitutive function of the hepatocyte. This function is linked to hepatocyte replication, is subject to phenotypic change in culture, and may be important in the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis.
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PMID:Collagen synthesis by the hepatocyte: studies in primary cultures of parenchymal cells from adult rat liver. 734 23

The amino acid composition of proteins from liver microsomes has been studied in rats and in human subjects with normal liver, with obstructive jaundice or liver cirrhosis. The pattern of the amino acid composition of microsomes appeared to be species-specific. Phenylalanine, threonine, serine, proline, histidine and [aspartic acid plus asparagine] were increased, while alanine, tyrosine, glycine and arginine were decreased in the human compared to the rat microsomes. In patients with obstructive jaundice of short duration (less than two months) only a slight decrease in leucine and phenylalanine could be noticed, while in the case of liver cirrhosis amino acid composition was markedly changed.
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PMID:Amino acid composition of rat and human liver microsomes in normal and pathological conditions. 757 35

Trichloromethyl and trichloromethyl peroxyl radicals are known to be produced during CCl4 biotransformation and are considered to be critical for deleterious effects of this haloalkane. In this work we describe our studies on the interaction of both free radicals with a lipid-soluble derivative of the amino acid proline in a model system. The analysis of the reaction products formed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of the sylilated derivatives revealed the formation of at least 11 reaction products under anaerobic conditions and 13 under aerobic atmosphere. All of them were tentatively identified and all but 2 were proline analogs. Only 3 incorporated in their structure CCl3 or CCl2 portions of the CCl4 molecule and, consequently, most of the adducts formed would be missed during regular procedures most toxicologists use to determine CCl4. Results were analyzed in relation to the known role of proline in collagen metabolism and of this protein in liver cirrhosis.
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PMID:Proline interaction with trichloromethyl and trichloromethyl peroxyl free radicals in a model system: studies about the nature of the reaction products formed. 764 79

Chronic iron overload can result in hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis. Activated lipocytes, through increased production of collagen and extracellular matrix, play an important role in hepatic fibrogenesis in several types of experimental liver injury, but their contribution to hepatic injury after iron overload is unknown. This study examines the effect of iron overload on lipocyte activation, in vivo. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a chow diet supplemented with 1% carbonyl iron for up to 20 mo. Controls were fed the chow diet alone. Lipocytes were prepared by sequential pronase and collagenase perfusion of the livers, followed by density-gradient centrifugation. Lipocyte activation was assessed by immunohistochemistry of liver sections and by Western blot analysis of alpha-smooth muscle actin expression in freshly isolated lipocytes. In addition, to measure the biosynthetic capability of these lipocytes, collagen and noncollagen protein production was determined after 3 days in culture, using [3H]proline incorporation. The hepatic iron concentration was increased by eightfold in the iron-loaded rats, and lipocytes from these animals expressed alpha-smooth muscle actin. Collagen production was increased by 2.5-fold, and noncollagen protein production was elevated by twofold in lipocytes isolated from iron-loaded rats. In the iron-loaded livers, autofluorescent material with the characteristics of lipofusion was present in periportal zones. Chronic iron overload expression results in the activation of lipocytes, as determined by increased expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin and by increased production of both collagen and noncollagen protein. This activation may contribute to iron-induced hepatic fibrogenesis.
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PMID:Chronic iron overload causes activation of rat lipocytes in vivo. 790 Aug 6

We have developed a convenient method combining fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) with sensitive radioimmunoassay (RIA) for thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) to separate and identify TRH and its metabolite histidyl-proline diketopiperazine (CHP) and applied this to study inactivation of TRH by blood extracts from patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) and acute edematous pancreatitis (AP). Blood samples spiked with TRH and CHP were extracted by cold methanol and injected on a reverse-phase FPLC column. A linear gradient was applied for separation. Subsequent analyses of fractions by RIA for TRH revealed that only fractions 9-10 contained TRH. Separation by retention time (9.9 +/- 0.8 min for TRH, 10.5 +/- 0.6 min for CHP, mean +/- SEM) was highly reproducible. For degradation studies, pooled sera from patients with LC and AP were incubated with TRH and CHP for 60 min. Inactivation of TRH was less rapid in the presence of blood extract from LC patients than that from normal subjects or AP patients. CHP was more stable than TRH. These data suggest that activity of TRH-degrading enzymes is reduced in liver disease, whereas it does not appear to be altered in AP. Degradation of CHP does not closely reflect metabolic processing of its major precursor. This rapid and sensitive method may be applicable for further investigations on the metabolism of TRH in organic fluids.
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PMID:A fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) method for study of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and its metabolite histidyl-proline diketopiperazine (CHP) in human blood: degradation in liver and pancreatic diseases. 812 15

The treatment of alcoholic liver disease at present consists of abstinence from alcohol, bed rest, and dietary intake or administration of adequate amounts of calories and protein. Besides corticosteroids, which have been shown to improve hospital survival in severely ill patients with alcoholic hepatitis and liver transplantation in advanced cirrhosis, no successful specific therapy is available for alcoholic liver disease. Potential new therapeutic approaches include: (1) Treatment with specific dietary supplements such as polyunsaturated lecithin, which in baboons prevented the progression of the early stages of pericentral and interstitial fibrosis to septal fibrosis and cirrhosis; (2) antagonists to cytokines or antibodies to cytokine receptors for cytokines that have been shown to enhance hepatocellular necrosis or fibrosis; (3) substances that block pathways of oxygen radical formation or increase their metabolism or binding to form nonharmful compounds; (4) inhibition of collagen synthesis by proline analogues that increase intracellular collagen degradation or increase in collagen degradation by stimulation of collagenase or by insertion of exogenous DNA encoding amino or carboxyterminal peptides of procollagen into hepatocytes; and (5) stimulation of hepatic regeneration and recovery from alcohol-inducer liver injury.
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PMID:Treatment of alcoholic liver disease. 833 5

To date, no attempt has been made to study alterations occurring in the amino acid profile in chronic models of thioacetamide-induced liver cirrhosis. In this work, changes in serum amino acids and proteins in rats with thioacetamide-induced liver cirrhosis are reported, together with changes in enzyme activities in the liver and serum. Seventeen female Wistar rats were used. Eight rats were given 300 mg thioacetamide/l in drinking water for 4 months and nine rats were given water ad libitum during the same time-period. Significant increases in glycine, alanine, serine, methionine, glutamate, ornithine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, histidine and proline were observed in rats with the resulting experimental liver cirrhosis. Threonine, taurine, glutamine, lysine and citrulline tended to increase while isoleucine, leucine, aspartate, arginine and tryptophan tended to decrease. Total and nonessential amino acids increased significantly in cirrhotic animals. Total essential and aromatic amino acids tended to increase in the thioacetamide-treated group, whereas branched chain amino acids tended to decrease in the same group. Regarding serum proteins, a decrease in albumin concentration in the thioacetamide-treated animals was the only change detected. The liver enzyme activities under observation (aspartate and alanine aminotransferases, glutamate dehydrogenase and threonine deaminase) were lower in the thioacetamide group. Decreases were significant for both transaminases and threonine deaminase. Results for serum activities showed that transaminases did not change in thioacetamide-treated rats in comparison with controls. In contrast, alkaline phosphatase rose dramatically in cirrhotic rats. We conclude that the serum amino acid pattern in this chronic model of liver cirrhosis resembles in part that of the corresponding human disease.
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PMID:Serum amino acid changes in rats with thioacetamide-induced liver cirrhosis. 857 92

This paper evaluates the role of decreased food intake in protein metabolism in cirrhotic animals by comparing the changes with those observed in pair-fed controls. Rats were injected with [14C]leucine and then divided into 3 groups. Liver cirrhosis was induced in 1 group of rats by repeated intragastric administration of CCl4 in oil over a period of 8 weeks. Control animals were gavaged with oil and either pair-fed or given access to food ad libitum. Three days after the last intragastric dose, rats were injected with [3H]leucine and sacrificed 20 min later. The daily food intake of CCl4 rats declined to 60% of that of the ad libitum controls. Both the pair-fed control group and the cirrhotic group showed decreased body weight gain, and a decline in muscle and intestinal protein degradation. The pair-fed and the cirrhotic groups differed from one another in many metabolic abnormalities. In the cirrhotic group we observed higher levels of serine, asparagine, proline, methionine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, ornithine and histidine, and lower levels of valine, isoleucine and arginine. In these animals higher relative (per kilogram body weight) weights and protein content of the spleen, kidneys and heart were observed. Additionally higher liver weight despite lower protein concentration, as well as lower liver protein degradation and lower skeletal muscle protein synthesis were found.
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PMID:Protein metabolism in cirrhotic rats: effect of dietary restriction. 867 70

Previous results of our group revealed that mebendazole, a broad spectrum anthelmintic drug with antimicrotubular properties, used for the treatment of liver cirrhosis, decreased total collagen content and biosynthesis in liver upon treatment. In the present study, we have evaluated the effects of mebendazole (5-50 micrograms/mL) on protein synthesis, secretion, and deposition in human-derived fibroblast cultures. The results showed a decrease in cell viability (18.5 +/- 0.9%) at 50 micrograms/mL. [3H]Thymidine incorporation diminished gradually with increasing mebendazole concentrations, reaching a plateau (53.67%) between 30 and 50 micrograms/mL. In late logarithmic phase cultures, the drug caused a decrease of [3H]proline incorporation (43.10%) and collagen biosynthesis (58.61%) in the extracellular matrix. This correlated with an increase in radioactivity in total proteins (51.28%) of the intracellular fraction. Similar results were obtained when mebendazole was assayed in post-confluent fibroblast cultures. The electrophoretic patterns of the extracellular matrix showed a decrease of radioactive collagenous components (alpha chains and beta dimers). By contrast, in the intracellular fraction an increase of radioactive collagen precursors (pro alpha chains) was observed. Immunofluorescence studies and immunotransfer analysis, using polyclonal anti-type I collagen antibodies, revealed an accumulation of intracellular collagen which included: collagen pro alpha chains, alpha chains, and low molecular weight peptides. The results obtained suggest that mebendazole interferes with the transcellular mobilization of proteins, resulting in a decrease of secretion and deposition of extracellular matrix proteins, and an accumulation of intracellular collagenous components. The intracellular accumulation of newly synthesized proteins could cause a feedback regulation in fibroblast cultures.
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PMID:Effects of mebendazole on protein biosynthesis and secretion in human-derived fibroblast cultures. 869 54


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