Deficiency of the promyelocytic leukemia protein fosters hepatitis C-associated hepatocarcinogenesis in mice.
Overwhelming lines of epidemiological evidence have indicated that persistent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major risk for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We have recently shown that HCV core protein mediates functional inactivation of the promyelocytic leukemia (PML) tumor suppressor pathway. However, the role of PML in HCC development yet remains unclear. To clarify the function of PML in liver carcinogenesis and HCV-associated pathogenesis we crossed PML-deficient mice with HCV transgene (HCV-Tg) expressing mice and treated the resulting animals with DEN/Phenobarbital, an established protocol for liver carcinogenesis. Seven months after treatment, livers …
Onset of heart failure determines the hepatic cell death pattern.
Background and rationale. Acute and chronic heart failure (HF) may affect the liver, but the underlying mechanisms that lead to progressive liver damage are poorly understood. The hepatic cytokeratin-18 (CK18) epitopes M65 and M30 have been reported to distinguish between overall (necrotic) and apoptotic cell death, respectively. We aimed to evaluate the predominant hepatic cell death pattern in acute vs. chronic heart failure and examined if these assays predict the course of the disease. Main results. In a prospective study comprising 21 patients with acute HF (AHF) and 18 patients with chronic HF (CHF) serum levels of M65 and M30 were assessed. Compared with CHF, M65 levels were signific…
GALAD Score Detects Early Hepatocellular Carcinoma in an International Cohort of Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis
Background & Aims The prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing. However, strategies for detection of early-stage HCC in patients with NASH have limitations. We assessed the ability of the GALAD score, which determines risk of HCC based on patient sex; age; and serum levels of α-fetoprotein (AFP), AFP isoform L3 (AFP-L3), and des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP), to detect HCC in patients with NASH. Methods We performed a case-control study of 125 patients with HCC (20% within Milan Criteria) and 231 patients without HCC (NASH controls) from 8 centers in Germany. We compared the performance of serum AFP, AFP-L3, or DCP vs GALAD …