Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0345904 (liver cancer)
 15,188 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Owing to the worldwide epidemic of obesity, and the popularity of diets rich in sugar and saturated fat, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly common; it is usually associated with insulin resistance, and may be considered a component of the metabolic syndrome. The pathologies which can complicate hepatic steatosis--steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatic cancer--appear to result from an interaction of hepatic lipid overload and hepatic oxidative stress. It is therefore proposed that comprehensive regimens which effectively target each of these precipitating factors should achieve the best therapeutic benefit in NAFLD. Appropriate weight loss, and a diet low in saturated fat, glycemic index, and added sugars, should decrease hepatic lipid load. Measures which enhance adipocyte insulin sensitivity--such as pioglitazone, astaxanthin, and spirulina--may also be helpful in this regard, as may agents that boost hepatocyte capacity for fatty acid oxidation, such as metformin, carnitine, hydroxycitrate, long-chain omega-3 fats, and glycine. Astaxanthin and spirulina appear to have considerable potential for controlling the oxidative stress associated with NAFLD - the former because it may help to prevent the mitochondrial damage that renders mitochondria a key source of superoxide in this syndrome, the latter because it is exceptionally rich in phycocyanobilin, a phytochemical inhibitor of NAPDH oxidase. Other antioxidants which show some promise in this syndrome include high-dose folate, lipoic acid, melatonin, N-acetylcysteine, vitamin E, and taurine. Finally, treatment with salsalate, an inhibitor of IkappaB kinase-beta, has potential for blunting the adverse impact of hepatic steatosis on oxidative stress and inflammation.
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PMID:Full-spectrum antioxidant therapy featuring astaxanthin coupled with lipoprivic strategies and salsalate for management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. 2176 23

Astaxanthin (AST) has attracted great interests in the scientific world because of its anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory properties. And biodegradable materials, like chitosan, have been employed as the AST carrier to protect it from degradation and promote its bioavailability. However, the lack of pH responsiveness of these materials usually could not protect AST from the strong acidic gastric juices. In this study, calcium alginate (CA) microspheres, a pH responsive and biodegradable material, were prepared by a modified double emulsion technology and used as the AST encapsulation agent. Experimental results showed that the microparticles formed had a good degree of roundness, dispersity, encapsulation efficiency, and pH responsiveness. Cellular studies demonstrated that AST encapsulated in CA could inhibit hepatoma cells (HepG2 cell line) but it has relatively small or no impact on control hepatocytes (THLE-2 cell line). Furthermore, investigation of the underlying mechanism indicated that recovery of disorder of glucose metabolism by inhibiting aerobic glycolysis and promoting tricarboxylic acid cycle played an important part in the cell proliferation inhibition of hepatoma cells. As suggested above, AST could be a very promising therapeutic agent of liver cancer in clinical trials.
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PMID:Astaxanthin Encapsulated in Biodegradable Calcium Alginate Microspheres for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Vitro. 3181 43

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid derived from oxygen-containing non-vitamin A sources and is mainly obtained from marine organisms. Studies have demonstrated that astaxanthin is a natural antioxidant product and it is widely used in the fields of medicine, health-care products and cosmetics. Studies have shown that astaxanthin has important preventive and therapeutic effects on liver fibrosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver, liver cancer, drug and ischemia-induced liver injury, and its mechanism is related to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and the regulation of multiple signaling pathways. In this review, we discuss the latest data on astaxanthin in the prevention and treatment of liver diseases. An understanding of the structure, source and mechanism of action of astaxanthin in the body would not only provide a theoretical basis for its clinical application but could also have important significance in screening and improving related compounds for the treatment of liver diseases.
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PMID:Astaxanthin in Liver Health and Disease: A Potential Therapeutic Agent. 3260 97