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New Challenges in the Study of Liver Diseases: From Molecular...
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New Challenges in the Study of Liver Diseases: From Molecular Pathogenesis to Therapeutic Approaches—the 3rd Edition

A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular and Translational Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 1557

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Marica Meroni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
General Medicine and Metabolic Diseases, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
Interests: liver diseases; genetics; metabolism; molecular biology; NAFLD; NASH; insulin resistance; genetics; biomarkers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The liver plays an essential role in all metabolic processes, acting as a hub that integrates hormone and nutrient stimuli, and catabolic responses. It has a peculiar structure and anatomical localization that preserve the networking with the entire digestive system. Alterations in hepatic homeostasis are particularly harmful; hence, the increasing number of patients affected represents a global concern.

The term liver diseases embraces an umbrella of hepatic disorders, including viral and toxic hepatitis, inherited and acquired cholestatic injuries, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). These disorders are usually complex in their molecular pathogenesis, and multiple risk factors may intervene in these processes. Among them, genetics and epigenetic factors have a primary impact in their development. Likewise, liver disorders are usually related to extrahepatic comorbidities, such as cardiovascular and intestinal complications. Since the gold standard for their diagnosis is still invasive and no therapeutic consensus exists for their management, this Special Issue aims to focus on new horizons in the discovery of noninvasive biomarkers and novel perspectives in the definition of the precise molecular mechanisms that precipitate liver damage towards end-stage conditions.

Dr. Marica Meroni
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomedicines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • liver diseases and related pathologies
  • nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
  • obesity
  • type 2 diabetes
  • cardiovascular diseases
  • gut–liver axis
  • viral hepatitis
  • alcoholic liver disease (ALD)
  • cholestatic disorders
  • personalized medicine

Related Special Issues

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 22177 KiB  
Article
Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction in Acute Cholestasis-Induced Liver Injury
by Sebastian Billig, Marc Hein, Celine Kirchner, David Schumacher, Moriz Aljoscha Habigt, Mare Mechelinck, Dieter Fuchs, Uwe Klinge, Alexander Theißen, Christian Beckers, Christian Bleilevens, Rafael Kramann and Moritz Uhlig
Biomedicines 2024, 12(4), 876; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines12040876 - 16 Apr 2024
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Abstract
Background: Previous studies have shown cardiac abnormalities in acute liver injury, suggesting a potential role in the associated high mortality. Methods: We designed an experimental study exploring the short-term effects of acute cholestasis-induced liver injury on cardiac function and structure in a rodent [...] Read more.
Background: Previous studies have shown cardiac abnormalities in acute liver injury, suggesting a potential role in the associated high mortality. Methods: We designed an experimental study exploring the short-term effects of acute cholestasis-induced liver injury on cardiac function and structure in a rodent bile duct ligation (BDL) model to elucidate the potential interplay. Thirty-seven male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to BDL surgery (n = 28) or served as sham-operated (n = 9) controls. Transthoracic echocardiography, Doppler evaluation of the left anterior descending coronary artery, and myocardial contrast echocardiography were performed at rest and during adenosine and dobutamine stress 5 days after BDL. Immunohistochemical staining of myocardial tissue samples for hypoxia and inflammation as well as serum analysis were performed. Results: BDL animals exhibited acute liver injury with elevated transaminases, bilirubin, and total circulating bile acids (TBA) 5 days after BDL (TBA control: 0.81 ± 2.54 µmol/L vs. BDL: 127.52 ± 57.03 µmol/L; p < 0.001). Concurrently, cardiac function was significantly impaired, characterized by reduced cardiac output (CO) and global longitudinal strain (GLS) in the echocardiography at rest and under pharmacological stress (CO rest control: 120.6 ± 24.3 mL/min vs. BDL 102.5 ± 16.6 mL/min, p = 0.041; GLS rest control: −24.05 ± 3.8% vs. BDL: −18.5 ± 5.1%, p = 0.01). Myocardial perfusion analysis revealed a reduced myocardial blood flow at rest and a decreased coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) under dobutamine stress in the BDL animals (CFVR control: 2.1 ± 0.6 vs. BDL: 1.7 ± 0.5 p = 0.047). Immunofluorescence staining indicated myocardial hypoxia and increased neutrophil infiltration. Conclusions: In summary, acute cholestasis-induced liver injury can lead to impaired cardiac function mediated by coronary microvascular dysfunction, suggesting that major adverse cardiac events may contribute to the mortality of acute liver failure. This may be due to endothelial dysfunction and direct bile acid signaling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges in the Study of Liver Diseases: From Molecular Pathogenesis to Therapeutic Approaches—the 3rd Edition)
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11 pages, 978 KiB  
Article
Biomarkers of Innate Immunity and Immunological Susceptibility to Viral Infection in Patients with Alcoholic Cirrhosis
by Isabel Legaz, Elena Navarro-Noguera, Aurelia Collados-Ros, Jose Miguel Bolarín and Manuel Muro
Biomedicines 2024, 12(2), 336; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines12020336 - 01 Feb 2024
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Abstract
Background: The harmful effect of alcohol on the immune system may be due to both a direct action of the alcohol or its metabolites on immune cells as an indirect action modifying the different mechanisms of intercellular interaction. The interplay between stimulatory (aKIR) [...] Read more.
Background: The harmful effect of alcohol on the immune system may be due to both a direct action of the alcohol or its metabolites on immune cells as an indirect action modifying the different mechanisms of intercellular interaction. The interplay between stimulatory (aKIR) and inhibitory (iKIR) natural killer (NK) cell receptors and their corresponding human leukocyte antigen (HLA) ligands influences the outcome of virus infection. The aim was to analyze the influence of the KIR/HLA pair genetic profile in male alcoholic cirrhosis (AC) patients with and without viral infections to find susceptibility biomarkers that can help establish the risks and prevent viral infections. Methods: A total of 281 male AC patients were analyzed. The sociodemographic characteristics, viral hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis B (HBV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections were analyzed. Genomic DNA was extracted, and genetic the KIR/HLA profiles were investigated. A total of 6 KIR genes and their corresponding ligands (HLA-C) were analyzed. Patients were grouped into two groups: with and without associated viral infection. Results: A statistically significant increase in the combination of KIR2DL2+/C1C1 was observed in male AC patients with viral infection compared to those without viral infection (45.9% vs. 24.5%, p = 0.021). The analysis of KIR2DL3+/C1+ showed a high frequency comparing healthy controls and male AC patients without virus infection (85% vs. 76.4%; p = 0.026). The analysis of KIR2DL3+/C2C2 frequency showed a statistically significant increase comparing male AC patients without viral infection and healthy controls (23.6% vs. 15%; p = 0.026). Conclusions: The genetic KIR2DL2+/C2C2 profiles may play a significant role in determining the vulnerability of male AC patients to viral infections, providing valuable insights for future research and potential therapeutic interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges in the Study of Liver Diseases: From Molecular Pathogenesis to Therapeutic Approaches—the 3rd Edition)
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