UMLS:C0239946 - FACTA Search

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Query: UMLS:C0239946 (liver fibrosis)
8,268 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Progressive liver fibrosis in rats develops when they are fed a diet deficient in choline. This diet also results in a pronounced and selective decrease in the liver microsomal content of a phase I drug-metabolizing enzyme belonging to the cytochrome P-450III gene family. Because P-450III cytochromes characteristically catalyze the N-demethylation of erythromycin, we believed that the production of breath CO2 from erythromycin would be dramatically reduced in choline-deficient rats. However, when 12 choline-deficient rats were compared with 9 control rats, the reduction in CO2 production from erythromycin (mean decrease 71%) was essentially identical to that from aminopyrine (mean decrease 69%), a substrate believed to be metabolized normally by the hepatocyte in fibrotic liver disease. Furthermore, we found that the relative erythromycin and aminopyrine demethylase activities were comparable when measured in vitro in liver microsomes prepared from the choline-deficient rats. To determine the molecular basis for the erythromycin demethylase activity in the choline-deficient rats, the liver microsomes were subjected to immunoblot analysis using a variety of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies capable of distinguishing individual P-450III-related proteins. Our studies confirm that a major erythromycin demethylase belonging to the P-450III family, termed P-450p, was greatly reduced in the choline-deficient rat liver. However, the specific concentration of a second P-450p-related protein was essentially normal and that of a third P-450p-related protein was actually increased in the choline-deficient rat liver.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Differential regulation of liver P-450III cytochromes in choline-deficient rats: implications for the erythromycin breath test as a parameter of liver function. 225 53

1. Subchronic treatment of male and female rats with CCl4 (0.2 ml/kg orally twice weekly) and drinking water containing 5% ethanol for four weeks led to a 20 to 40-fold increase in serum sorbitol dehydrogenase activity and to an augmentation of the liver triglyceride and hydroxyproline contents, indicating steatosis and fibrosis, respectively. Liver fibrosis was less pronounced in females than in male rats. 2. As a consequence of these alterations the hepatic microsomal mixed-function oxidase activity as measured by aminopyrine demethylation was decreased with concomitant loss of cytochrome P-450 in both sexes. Aniline hydroxylation as well as the activity of the NADPH-cytochrome c reductase showed no significant alterations. 3. While the hepatic glutathione content remained unchanged, the cytosolic glutathione S-transferase activities towards both an aryl and an epoxide substrate were markedly decreased following the development of liver fibrosis both in male and female rats.
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PMID:Effect of carbon tetrachloride--alcohol-induced liver fibrosis on microsomal mixed-function oxidases and the cytosolic glutathione-conjugating system in rat liver. 685

Oxidative stress and its consequent lipid peroxidation (LP) exert harmful effects, which have been currently involved in the generation of carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis. However, the recent report that "physiological" LP can be associated with liver regeneration (LR) makes it necessary to discriminate between oxidative stress-induced and LR-associated LP. In rats rendered cirrhotic by continuous CCl4 administration for 4 weeks, moderate cell necrosis and fine fatty infiltration were found. The histological abnormalities were accompanied by increased LP, mainly accounted for by the microsomal and cytosolic fractions and evidence of oxidative stress (decreased hepatic glutathione content and changes in xanthine oxidase and pentose phosphate pathway activities). After 8 weeks, a micronodular cirrhosis developed, but oxidative stress was greatly attenuated, only persisting in the enhanced LP confined to microsomes. Simultaneous administration of adenosine, a reliable hepatoprotector that readily prevents the onset of liver fibrosis, was able to block the oxidative stress induced by the long-term CCl4 treatment but elicited a selective subcellular distribution of increased LP, similar to that found during LR. The adenosine-induced changes in liver LP (mainly in the nuclear fraction) correlated with an increased activity of thymidine kinase. Therefore, data suggest that adenosine-mediated preservation of energy availability and mitochondrial function could participate in preventing the onset of oxidative stress in cirrhotic rats. The latter could induce a successful liver recovery, curtailing the sequence of events leading to fibrogenesis.
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PMID:Balance between oxidative damage and proliferative potential in an experimental rat model of CCl4-induced cirrhosis: protective role of adenosine administration. 936 48

The understanding of how alcohol damages the liver has expanded substantially over the last decade. In particular, the genetics of alcoholism, the genesis of fatty liver, the role of oxidant stress, interactions between endotoxin and the Kupffer cell, and the factors that control activation of the hepatic stellate cell (HSC) have been the focus of a great deal of research. Genetic mechanisms for increasing the risk of alcoholism include alterations in alcohol metabolizing enzymes as well as neurobiological differences between individuals. The development of fatty liver may involve both redox forces, oxidative stress, and alterations in peroxisome proliferator activated receptor function. Oxidative stress is now known to involve both microsomal and mitochondrial systems. Recent studies implicate stimulation of Kupffer cells by portal vein endotoxin as a cause of release of cytokines and chemokines, hepatocyte hyper-metabolism, and activation of HSC. These actions appear to be in part gender-dependent and may explain the susceptibility of women to alcoholic liver disease. Activation of HSC underlies liver fibrosis and cirrhosis of all types; control of this activation might permit control of the progression of fibrosis. These advances suggest a number of new approaches as therapy for alcoholic liver injury.
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PMID:Pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease: newer mechanisms of injury. 1063 42

Few data are available in the literature regarding the effect of pentosan polysulfate (PPS) on normal and fibrotic rat livers. In addition, the combination of PPS and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) has not been studied so far. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of PPS on rat livers treated or not with CCl4 for the induction of liver fibrosis. The study consisted of four stages: 1) hepatic fibrosis induction with CCl4 (N = 36 rats); 2) evaluation of the effect of PPS on CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis (N = 36 rats); 3) evaluation of the effect of higher doses of PPS in combination with CCl4 (N = 50 rats); 4) evaluation of the presence of an enzymatic inductor effect by PPS (N = 18 rats) using the sodium pentobarbital test which indirectly evaluates hepatic microsomal enzyme activity in vivo. Adult (60 to 70 days) male Wistar rats weighing 180 to 220 g were used. All animals receiving 0.5 ml 8% CCl4 (N = 36) developed hepatic fibrosis, and after 8 weeks they also developed cirrhosis. No delay or prevention of hepatic fibrosis was observed with the administration of 5 mg/kg PPS (N = 8) and 1 mg/kg PPS (N = 8) 1 h after the administration of CCl4, but the increased hepatotoxicity resulting from the combination of the two substances caused massive hepatic necrosis in most rats (N = 45). PPS (40 mg/kg) alone caused hepatic congestion only after 8 weeks, but massive hepatic necrosis was again observed in association with 0.5 ml CCl4 after 1 to 4 weeks of treatment. Unexpectedly, sleeping time increased with time of PPS administration (1, 2, or 3 weeks). This suggests that PPS does not function as an activator of the hepatic microsomal enzymatic system. Further studies are necessary in order to clarify the unexpected increase in hepatotoxicity caused by the combination of CCl4 and high doses of PPS, which results in massive hepatic necrosis.
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PMID:Potentiation of carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity by pentosan polysulfate in rats. 1242 34

Thioacetamide (TAA) administration is an established technique for generating rat models of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Oxidative stress is believed to be involved as TAA-induced liver fibrosis is initiated by thioacetamide S-oxide, which is derived from the biotransformation of TAA by the microsomal flavine-adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-containing monooxygense (FMO) and cytochrome P450 systems. A two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-mass spectrometry approach was applied to analyze the protein profiles of livers of rats administered with sublethal doses of TAA for 3, 6 and 10 weeks respectively. With this approach, 59 protein spots whose expression levels changed significantly upon TAA administration were identified, including three novel proteins. These proteins were then sorted according to their common biochemical properties and functions, so that pathways involved in the pathogenesis of rat liver fibrosis due to TAA-induced toxicity could be elucidated. As a result, it was found that TAA-administration down-regulated the enzymes of the primary metabolic pathways such as fatty acid beta-oxidation, branched chain amino acids and methionine breakdown. This phenomenon is suggestive of the depletion of succinyl-CoA which affects heme and iron metabolism. Up-regulated proteins, on the other hand, are related to oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. Finally, these proteomics data and the data obtained from the scientific literature were integrated into an "overview model" for TAA-induced liver cirrhosis. This model could now serve as a useful resource for researchers working in the same area.
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PMID:A proteomic analysis of thioacetamide-induced hepatotoxicity and cirrhosis in rat livers. 1552 43

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the preferred term to describe the spectrum of liver damage ranging from hepatic steatosis to steatohepatitis, liver fibrosis, and cirrhosis, and it is emerging as the most common liver disease in industrialized countries. Thus, the discovery of food components that would ameliorate NAFLD is of interest. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a mixture of positional and geometric isomers of linoleic acid, has attracted considerable attention because of its potentially beneficial biological effects both in vitro and in vivo. We tested whether dietary CLA protects Zucker (fa/fa) rats from hepatic injury. After 8 wk of feeding, hepatomegaly, hepatic triglyceride (TG) accumulation, and elevated hepatic injury markers in plasma were markedly alleviated in CLA-fed Zucker rats compared with linoleic acid-fed (control) rats. These effects were attributed in part to the enhanced hepatic activities of carnitine palmitoyltransferase, a key enzyme of fatty acid beta-oxidation, and microsomal TG transfer protein, an important factor for lipoprotein secretion due to the CLA diet. We previously reported that the severe hyperinsulinemia in control Zucker rats was attenuated in CLA-fed rats due to an enhanced level of plasma adiponectin, which improves insulin sensitivity. In the present study, the adiponectin concentration was increased and the mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, an inflammatory cytokine, was markedly suppressed in the liver of CLA-fed Zucker rats. We speculate that the enhanced level of liver adiponectin may prevent the development and progression of NAFLD in CLA-fed Zucker rats.
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PMID:Dietary conjugated linoleic acid alleviates nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in Zucker (fa/fa) rats. 1562 25

Effectively assessing subtle hepatic metabolic functions by novel non-invasive tests might be of clinical utility in scoring NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) and in identifying altered metabolic pathways. The present study was conducted on 39 (20 lean and 19 obese) hypertransaminasemic patients with histologically proven NAFLD {ranging from simple steatosis to severe steatohepatitis [NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis)] and fibrosis} and 28 (20 lean and eight overweight) healthy controls, who underwent stable isotope breath testing ([(13)C]methacetin and [(13)C]ketoisocaproate) for microsomal and mitochondrial liver function in relation to histology, serum hyaluronate, as a marker of liver fibrosis, and body size. Compared with healthy subjects and patients with simple steatosis, NASH patients had enhanced methacetin demethylation (P=0.001), but decreased (P=0.001) and delayed (P=0.006) ketoisocaproate decarboxylation, which was inversely related (P=0.001) to the degree of histological fibrosis (r=-0.701), serum hyaluronate (r=-0.644) and body size (r=-0.485). Ketoisocaproate decarboxylation was impaired further in obese patients with NASH, but not in patients with simple steatosis and in overweight controls. NASH and insulin resistance were independently associated with an abnormal ketoisocaproate breath test (P=0.001). The cut-off value of 9.6% cumulative expired (13)CO(2) for ketoisocaproate at 60 min was associated with the highest prediction (positive predictive value, 0.90; negative predictive value, 0.73) for NASH, yielding an overall sensitivity of 68% and specificity of 94%. In conclusion, both microsomal and mitochondrial functions are disturbed in NASH. Therefore stable isotope breath tests may usefully contribute to a better and non-invasive characterization of patients with NAFLD.
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PMID:Liver breath tests non-invasively predict higher stages of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. 1660 25

1. Liver fibrosis is the compensatory state of cirrhosis. In the long asymptomatic period, it is imperative to select a proper dosing regimen for drugs that are applicable to hepatic fibrosis owing to altered pharmacokinetics and bioavailability. The present study was designed to observe the changes in verapamil pharmacokinetics in rats with early liver fibrosis with respect to alterations in cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) and P-glycoprotein (P-gp). 2. A rat liver fibrosis model was successfully established using several inducers, including a high-fat diet, alcohol and carbon tetrachloride. After rats received a single intravenous or oral dose of verapamil (5 mg/kg), the plasma concentrations of verapamil were determined at scheduled time-points using HPLC. The activity of hepatic and small intestinal microsomal erythromycin N-demethylase (a marker for CYP3A) and the expression of small intestinal cyp3a and multidrug resistance (mdr) mRNA were compared between normal rats and rats with liver fibrosis. 3. The results showed that when verapamil was administered intravenously, the area under the curve (AUC), elimination half-life (T((1/2)(K10))) and mean residence time (MRT) increased significantly, whereas clearance (Cl) decreased, in rats with liver fibrosis compared with normal rats. After oral administration of verapamil, the AUC, (T((1/2)(K10))) and maximum concentration (C(max)) increased, Cl decreased and the absorption half-life (T((1/2)(K01))) and time to peak concentration (T(max)) were unchanged compared with normal rats. The oral bioavailability of verapamil was 32.9% in normal rats and 34.4% in rats with liver fibrosis. Furthermore, decreased CYP3A activity in the liver was accompanied by upregulated cyp3a9/18 and unchanged mdr mRNA in the small intestine compared with normal rats. Expression of cyp3a9/18 and mdr mRNA in the intestine was significantly inhibited by verapamil. 4. The results suggest that the lowered Cl and increased AUC of verapamil after intravenous and oral administration in rats with liver fibrosis were due to downregulation of CYP3A in the liver. The absorption rate of verapamil in rats with liver fibrosis was unchanged because mdr was unchanged and cyp3a was inhibited in the intestine by verapamil itself. There was no notable difference in oral bioavailability between normal rats and rats with liver fibrosis.
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PMID:Effects of liver fibrosis on verapamil pharmacokinetics in rats. 1797 28

Alcohol abuse is one of the major causes of liver fibrosis worldwide. Although the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis is a very complex phenomenon involving different molecular and biological mechanisms, several lines of evidence established that the first ethanol metabolite, acetaldehyde, plays a key role in the onset and maintenance of the fibrogenetic process. This review briefly summarizes the molecular mechanisms underlying acetaldehyde pro-fibrogenic effects. Liver fibrosis represents a general wound-healing response to a variety of insults. Although mortality due to alcohol abuse has been constantly decreasing in the past 20 years in Southern Europe and North America, in several Eastern-European countries and Great Britain Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD) shows a sharply increasing trend [Bosetti, C., Levi, F., Lucchini, F., Zatonski, W.A., Negri, E., La, V.C., 2007. Worldwide mortality from cirrhosis: an update to 2002. J. Hepatol. 46, 827-839]. ALD has a complex pathogenesis, in which acetaldehyde (AcCHO), the major ethanol metabolite, plays a central role. Ethanol is mainly metabolized in the liver by two oxidative pathways. In the first one ethanol is oxidized to acetaldehyde by the cytoplasmic alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme (ADH), acetaldehyde is then oxidized to acetic acid by the mitochondrial acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). The second pathway is inducible and involves the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system (MEOS), in which the oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde and acetic acid also leads to generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Chronic ethanol consumption significantly inhibits mitochondrial ALDH activity while the rate of ethanol oxidation to acetaldehyde is even enhanced, resulting in a striking increase of tissue and plasma acetaldehyde levels [Lieber, C.S., 1997. Ethanol metabolism, cirrhosis and alcoholism. Clin. Chim. Acta 257, 59-84]. This review will focus on the molecular mechanisms by which acetaldehyde promote liver fibrosis.
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PMID:Alcohol induced hepatic fibrosis: role of acetaldehyde. 1816 54

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