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Primary biliary cholangitis （PBC） is a chronic autoimmune disease of cholestasis in which immune factors lead to progressive small bile duct destruction， cholestasis， and eventually liver fibrosis， liver cirrhosis， and even liver failure. Macrophages， as a group with functional heterogeneity， play different roles in the whole disease process of PBC. This article summarizes the possible ways by which macrophages are involved in the pathogenesis of PBC and discusses their impact on the disease and the potential therapeutic targets of macrophages. It is pointed out that macrophages are mainly involved in innate immunity in PBC injury and are associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis， and they are also associated with cholestasis， liver fibrosis， and liver cirrhosis in the later stages of the disease.
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Amyloid protein （AP） is used to describe the fibrous aggregates that form when proteins are misfolded， and it is associated with a series of amyloidosis diseases. When AP is deposited in the liver， it will lead to liver amyloidosis， thereby inducing related pathological changes that affect the normal physiological function of the liver； however， this disease is rarely reported and often neglected in clinical practice. This article reviews the physiological and pathological effects and mechanisms of AP in the liver， so as to improve the understanding of AP-related diseases and provide a reference for related research and clinical treatment.
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Objective:To analyze and summarize clinical and pathological characteristics of clear cell papulosis (CCP) .Methods:Clinical data were collected from 57 children with CCP, who were diagnosed in Department of Dermatology, Children′s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from November 2014 to March 2022, and their clinical and pathological characteristics were analyzed.Results:Among the 57 patients, 30 were males and 27 were females; their age ranged from 6 months to 7 years and 10 months; the age at onset ranged from 1 to 74 months, and 39 (68.4%) experienced onset of disease in infancy; the course of disease ranged from 1 to 84 months. Skin lesions mainly manifested as millet- to soybean-sized roundish white macules or short bar-like white macules measuring 1 - 2 cm in length. Most patients (49 cases, 85.9%) had skin lesions less than 20 in number. The most common location of skin lesions was the lower abdomen (35 cases, 61.4%), followed in turn by chest or upper abdomen (34 cases, 59.6%), anterior axilla or armpit (17 cases, 29.8%), and vulva (11 cases, 19.3%). Short bar-like white macules predominated on the chest or upper abdomen (23/34, 65.7%) and anterior axilla or armpit (10/17), roundish white macules predominated on the lower abdomen (30/35, 85.7%), and the vulvar lesions all manifested as roundish white macules. Histopathological findings showed that slightly larger cells with abundant clear cytoplasm were scattered in or above the basal layer of the epidermis, and these cells were positive for cytokeratin 7, carcinoembryonic antigen, and periodic acid-Schiff staining.Conclusion:CCP mainly occurred in young children, roundish white macules predominated on the lower abdomen and vulva, and short bar-like white macules predominated on the chest or upper abdomen, as well as on the anterior axilla or armpit, indicating that CCP has strongly identifiable clinical features.
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Objective:To analyze 141 cases clinically misdiagnosed as melanoma, and to improve the understanding and diagnosis of diseases.Methods:Totally, 141 cases preliminarily diagnosed as melanoma, which was finally excluded according to histopathological examination results, were collected from the pathological database of Department of Dermatology, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University from November 2001 to September 2019, and their clinical and histopathological data were analyzed retrospectively.Results:Among the 141 cases clinically misdiagnosed as melanoma, 64 were males and 77 were females. Their median age at the time of misdiagnosis was 51 years, and the average disease duration was 103.4 months. The patients mainly presented with patches and papules, most of which were black in color. Based on histopathological manifestations, 35 patients were diagnosed with pigmented nevi, 29 with basal cell carcinoma, 15 with seborrheic keratosis, 7 with Bowen′s disease, 6 with nail melanin spots, 5 with epidermal cysts, 4 with poroma, 4 with hemorrhage, 4 with dermatofibroma, and 23 with other skin diseases.Conclusions:In clinical practice, some diseases with characteristics of melanoma are liable to be misdiagnosed. It is necessary to grasp their clinical features and actively carry out auxiliary examinations such as dermoscopy and histopathological examinations to confirm the diagnosis and reduce the misdiagnosis rate.
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Connective tissue nevi (CTN) , a kind of benign skin hamartomas, can be classified into 3 types according to the excessive components predominating in skin lesions, including collagen type, elastin type and proteoglycan type, and each type of CTN includes various inherited and acquired diseases. Therefore, genetic, clinical, and histopathological features should be considered for the confirmation of diagnosis of CTN and its subtypes. According to the latest Chinese and international literature, this review elaborates clinical classification and histopathological characteristics of CTN, aiming to further strengthen the understanding of this disease.
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Acute pancreatitis-associated ascites fluid (PAAF) is a common complication in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) and is closely associated with the severity of AP, the development of local and systemic complications, and prognosis. PAAF may originate from the leakage of abdominal blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and pancreatic duct. Recent studies have found that early removal of PAAF by abdominal paracentesis drainage can help to reduce systemic inflammation and alleviate pancreatitis-associated organ injury, thereby improving the conditions of patients with severe AP and reducing mortality. However, it is still not completely clear how PAAF aggravates systemic inflammatory response, participates in pancreatic injury and damage of distal organs, and leads to the aggravation of disease conditions in patients with AP. Therefore, this article gives an overview of PAAF and summarizes related studies in recent years, so as to provide directions for exploring the pathophysiological process and treatment of AP.
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Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become one of the most common chronic liver diseases in the world, and it seriously harms human health. Recent studies have found that bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) might be associated with NAFLD. This article reviews the latest advances in the research on the association between BMP4 and NAFLD in China and globally and explores the potential mechanism of action of BMP4 on NAFLD, in order to provide new ideas for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.
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As a novel star molecule, gasdermin D (GSDMD) plays an important role in the amplification of immune inflammatory response and the process of pyroptosis. After being cleaved and activated by caspase-1, the N-terminal of GSDMD is rapidly released, which anchors on the cell membrane and forms pores, thereby leading to pyroptosis, accompanied by the release of a large amount of the strong proinflammatory factors IL-1β and IL-18. Acute/chronic liver inflammatory response and cell death are the common pathological features of liver diseases such as viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, autoimmune liver disease, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. This article summarizes the basic structural characteristics of GSDMD and elaborates on its important role in the pathological progression of various liver diseases. In addition, it is proposed that prevention and treatment strategies with GSDMD as a potential therapeutic target can provide new ideas for further studies on the clinical prevention and treatment of liver diseases.
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Sulforaphane is a phytochemical with a variety of biological activities that exists widely in Cruciferae plants. This article summarizes the recent experimental studies of sulforaphane in the treatment of various types of liver injury in China and globally and reviews the role and mechanism of sulforaphane in protecting against liver injury. Based on the experimental animal models of liver injury, this article summarizes the therapeutic effect of sulforaphane on the models of chemical liver injury, drug-induced liver injury, alcoholic liver injury, immunological liver injury, and ischemia/reperfusion liver injury and analyzes the mechanism of action of sulforaphane in improving experimental liver injury, so as to provide a reference for in-depth research on sulforaphane in protecting against liver injury.
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The incidence rate of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing year by year, with limited treatment methods, and its pathogenesis is a research hotspot at present. In order to better clarify its pathogenesis, it is urgent to develop advanced, safe, and effective in vitro or in vivo models to understand and develop treatment strategies for this disease. This article reviews the in vitro models commonly used in the preclinical study of NAFLD and discusses their advantages and disadvantages, so as to provide a theoretical basis for the pathogenesis and treatment of NAFLD.
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Liver cirrhosis is a liver disease caused by various factors and is characterized by diffuse fibrous hyperplasia, lobular structural damage, and pseudolobule formation. Bile duct proliferation has been observed in a variety of animal models of liver cirrhosis and patients with liver cirrhosis caused by different etiologies, and it is regulated by signaling pathways with the involvement of multiple regulatory factors such as neuropeptides, neurotransmitters, and hormones. Moreover, the proliferated bile ducts promote the formation of liver fibrosis by mediating the proliferation and activation of hepatic stellate cells. This article summarizes the changes of the intrahepatic bile duct system in liver cirrhosis and its influence on the process of liver fibrosis, various signaling pathways associated with cholangiocyte proliferation and liver fibrosis, and the value of the dynamic evolution of bile duct structure in predicting the degree of liver fibrosis. It is pointed out that bile duct proliferation may become a potential target for the intervention of liver fibrosis, which provides new ideas and methods for early treatment and reversal of liver fibrosis.
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The incidence and mortality rates of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) are increasing constantly, and it is of great importance to explore new therapeutic targets. Ferroptosis, a unique pattern of cell death caused by iron-dependent cellular oxidative injury, is closely associated with iron metabolism and oxidative stress imbalance in cancer and has become a research hotspot in the field of tumor. This article introduces the mechanism of ferroptosis and the research advances in ferroptosis involved in the development and progression of CCA, and it is pointed out that the regulatory mechanism of ferroptosis has an important clinical value in the malignant progression of CCA.
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Particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), as one of the main components of atmospheric particulate matter, has become an important factor affecting people's health; however, there are relatively few studies on the association of PM2.5 with the development and progression of liver cancer. This article reviews the epidemiological study of PM2.5 and liver cancer, summarizes the mechanisms of PM2.5 causing liver cancer (including changing enzyme activity, affecting gene expression, inducing endoplasmic mesh stress, causing liver fat degeneration, and leading to liver fibrosis), and discusses the influence of PM2.5 exposure on the prognosis of liver cancer.
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Objective To investigate the effect of Yipi Yanggan prescription on the malignant transformation of liver stem cells in liver precancerous lesion induced by diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and its possible molecular mechanism. Methods A total of 35 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal control group (blank group), DEN model group (model group), DEN+Yipi Yanggan prescription group (Yipi Yanggan prescription group), and DEN+Hugan tablet group (Hugan tablet group), with 5 rats in the blank group and 10 rats in the other three groups. Intraperitoneal injection of DEN was performed to establish a model of liver precancerous lesion, the rats were sacrificed after 16 weeks of administration. The serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and albumin (Alb) were measured; liver tissue was collected to observe the changes in size and appearance and calculate liver weight ratio (liver index); HE staining and Sirius Red staining were used to observe the pathological and morphological changes of rat liver tissue; immunohistochemistry was used to measure the expression of OV6 and glutathione S-transferase-Pi (GST-Pi); RT-PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of EpCAM, CD133, and CD90, and Western blot was used to measure the protein expression of PI3K, Akt, and mTOR and their phosphorylation level. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups, and the least significant difference t -test was used for further comparison between two groups. Results Compared with the model group, the Yipi Yanggan prescription group and the Hugan tablet group had significant improvements in liver pathology and morphology, significant reductions in liver index and the levels of ALT and AST, and a significant increase in the level of Alb (all P < 0.05), as well as significant reductions in the protein expression levels of GST-Pi, OV6, p-PI3K, p-Akt, and p-mTOR and the mRNA expression levels of EpCAM, CD133, and CD90 (all P < 0.05). Compared with the Hugan tablet group, the Yipi Yanggan prescription group showed a more significant protective effect on the liver, with significant reductions in liver index and the levels of ALT and AST, and a significant increase in the level of Alb (all P < 0.05), as well as significant reductions in the protein expression levels of GST-Pi, OV6, p-PI3K, p-Akt, and p-mTOR and the mRNA expression levels of EpCAM, CD133, and CD90 (all P < 0.05). Conclusion Yipi Yanggan prescription can improve liver precancerous lesion induced by DEN in rats by inhibiting the malignant transformation of liver stem cells, and its mechanism of action may be associated with the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.
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The etiology and pathogenesis of autoimmune liver diseases has always been a hot area of research. Pathogen infections can elicit an autoimmune response and often become the key pathogenic factor of immune diseases. Based on the literature data and the author's clinical experience, this review will briefly introduce the role and influence of pathogen infections in the development and progression of autoimmune liver diseases from the aspects such as molecular mimicry mechanism, in order to further understand the pathogenesis of autoimmune liver diseases.
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Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is an immune-mediated liver disease with hepatocytes as the main target cells. It is characterized by the high immunoglobulin G level and the presence of autoantibodies, and histological observation shows interface hepatitis at the portal area caused by a large amount of lymphoplasmacytic infiltration. The pathogenesis of AIH has not been fully elucidated. At present, glucocorticoid combined with azathioprine is mainly used as non-specific immunosuppressive therapy, and most patients tend to have good response; however, rebound or relapse is often observed during dose reduction or after drug withdrawal, so most patients need long-term maintenance therapy. This article briefly reviews the advances in the pathogenesis of AIH and the potential new targets for clinical intervention, in order to provide a reference for clinical translational research.
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Portopulmonary hypertension (POPH) is an increase in pulmonary artery pressure that occurs on the basis of portal hypertension. As a member of the BMP family, bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9) not only has the osteogenic activity, but can also protect endothelial integrity and maintain vascular homeostasis. This article reviews the pathogenesis of POPH, the physiological expression and role of BMP9, and related research advances in the BMP9 signaling pathway and its involvement in pulmonary hypertension and vascular remodeling, thereby exploring the possibility of BMP9 as a new biomarker for POPH to assist in the diagnosis of POPH.
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Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women of childbearing age, with the clinical manifestations of oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea, hyperandrogenism, and anovulatory infertility, and it is often accompanied by metabolic disorders such as obesity, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and glucose and lipid metabolism disorders. Women with PCOS often have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and other metabolic-associated diseases, and PCOS and NAFLD are related in terms of pathogenesis and treatment. This article reviews the research advances in PCOS with NAFLD in recent years.
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Primary intrahepatic stones (PIS) is a refractory disease with a high incidence rate in southwest China, and some patients still require surgery again or even more times after initial treatment. Many studies in recent years have shown that some specific flora can colonize in the intrahepatic bile duct, leading to chronic infection and inflammation of the biliary system, and these specific types of flora, called "stone-causing flora", can produce metabolites such as β-glucuronidase and play an important role in the formation of pigmented stones. This article analyzes the role of stone-causing flora in the pathogenesis of PIS, so as to provide more treatment options for PIS patients.
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The pathogenesis of rosacea has not been fully elucidated. It is currently believed that genetic factors, local skin immune imbalance, neuroimmune and neurovascular dysfunction, skin barrier function abnormalities, microbiota imbalance, etc., are all involved in the occurrence and development of rosacea. This review summarizes research progress in the pathophysiological pathogenesis of rosacea.