ABSTRACT
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.
ABSTRACT
Portopulmonary hypertension (POPH) refers to the increase in pulmonary artery pressure on the basis of portal hypertension, which may lead to progressive right ventricular failure and death with disease progression. POPH has a low incidence rate and is often neglected by clinicians due to a lack of symptoms or the presence of non-specific symptoms in the early stage. This article summarizes the research advances in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of POPH in recent years, introduces the noninvasive detection methods currently available for POPH diagnosis, and explores the selection of appropriate treatment methods based on the severity and individualized conditions of patients with POPH, so as to improve the understanding of this disease among clinicians.
ABSTRACT
Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) refers to liver injury caused by one or more drugs or their metabolites after use. Due to the various types of drugs and large differences between individuals, there are many difficulties in the clinical diagnosis of DILI, and the search for new biomarkers has become a research hotspot. Related studies have shown that cytokines play a key role in DILI, especially idiosyncratic DILI. This article outlines the role of different cytokines in DILI and their value in predicting the severity and evaluating prognosis of DILI. It is pointed out that cytokines have a broad application prospect as biomarkers for DILI.
ABSTRACT
Sal-like 4 (SALL4) is a transcription factor that helps to maintain self-renewal and pluripotency of stem cells. This gene is expressed in the human fetal liver, but is silent in the healthy adult liver. It has been reported that SALL4 has a diagnostic value in a variety of solid tumors. These characteristics make SALL4 a possible tumor biomarker for liver cancer. This article reviews the recent advances in the role of SALL4 in the development, progression, metastasis, and other biological processes of primary liver cancer, as well as its role in predicting the prognosis of primary liver cancer. We believe that with further studies, SALL4 and related microRNAs may become new markers for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic evaluation of primary liver cancer.
