0000000000331403
AUTHOR
Sönke Detlefsen
StellaTUM: current consensus and discussion on pancreatic stellate cell research
The field of pancreatic stellate cell (PSC) biology is very young, as the essential in-vitro tools to study these cells (ie, methods to isolate and culture PSC) were only developed as recently as in 1998. Nonetheless, there has been an exponential increase in research output in this field over the past decade, with numerous research groups around the world focusing their energies into elucidating the biology and function of these cells. It is now well established that PSC are responsible for producing the stromal reaction (fibrosis) of two major diseases of the pancreas—chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Despite exponentially increasing data, the methods for studying PSC remain var…
Controlled attenuation parameter and alcoholic hepatic steatosis: Diagnostic accuracy and role of alcohol detoxification.
Background & Aims: Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) is a novel non-invasive measure of hepatic steatosis, but it has not been evaluated in alcoholic liver disease. Therefore, we aimed to validate CAP for the assessment of biopsy-verified alcoholic steatosis and to study the effect of alcohol detoxification on CAP. Methods: This was a cross-sectional biopsy-controlled diagnostic study in four European liver centres. Consecutive alcohol-overusing patients underwent concomitant CAP, regular ultrasound, and liver biopsy. In addition, we measured CAP before and after admission for detoxification in a separate single-centre cohort. Results: A total of 562 patients were included in the s…
Is the Total Amount as Important as Localization and Type of Collagen in Liver Fibrosis Attributable to Steatohepatitis?
Is liver fibrosis just liver fibrosis? Or do the subtype of collagen, its spatial localization in the liver, its cell of origin, and the time point at which it is synthesized also matter? It is important, since the various collagen subtypes hold different informative values regarding reparative processes in the liver, and as collagens have also emerged as important signaling molecules (1). Novel data have challenged our perception of liver fibrosis and collagens, which may have important implications regarding the development of new biomarkers and anti-fibrotic interventions. The traditional histological analysis of liver biopsies using histochemical collagen stains, such as the Masson's Tr…