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Liver Diseases: From Molecular Basis to Potential Therapy

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2025 | Viewed by 6311

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The liver is the largest organ of the body. Anatomically, it is located between the gastrointestinal tract and the systemic circulation. The liver is not only essential for the digestion of food stuffs introduced through the mouth and for the elimination of ingested toxicants and particulate matter which reaches the portal blood on the other side, but it also satisfies the need of such nutrients by distributing them to the rest of the body. A crucial function is the elimination of old erythrocytes and the delivery of the necessary components for replacement of the blood cells to the bone marrow. By producing the bulk of the plasma proteins, first albumin, but also those of the coagulation and complement system the liver is responsible for the corpuscolate and fluid components of the blood. Those proteins fulfill essential functions under normal, but more importantly under dangerous conditions, when the integrity of the liver itself, or more often when the integrity of extrahepatic tissues, is compromised. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines “disease, any harmful deviation from the normal structural or functional state of an organism, generally associated with certain signs and symptoms and differing in nature from physical injury”. The normal condition of the liver is still not well defined at the molecular level. This is, however, essential in order to recognize a disease as the consequence of the interruption of the different functions. A demarcation between disease and health may not always be apparent as the liver has a large functional reserve. This can, however, be overwhelmed in cases such as drug-induced liver damage, irradiation-induced liver fat accumulation, and acute or long-term damage or in some complications of pregnancy.

Topics of interest:

  1. Quality and quantity of lipids in different forms of steatosis in lean overweight and obese persons;
  2. Molecular consequences of lipids accumulation in the hepatocytes, e.g., bile production, protein synthesis including chemokines and cytokines;
  3. Mechanisms of hepatocellular damage induced by lipid accumulation;
  4. Consequences of steatosis for blood cell formation in the bone marrow;
  5. Consequences of steatosis for DNA-synthesis in hepatocellular nuclei;
  6. Ameiosis in the liver;
  7. Lipid overloading and mechanisms of volume change of the liver;
  8. Consequences of lipid overloading for extracellular matrix production and deposition;
  9. Liver and pregnancy: pathophysiology of HELLP-syndrome (coagulation, complement, production of blood cells);
  10. Molecular mechanisms of acute fatty liver and pregnancy;
  11. Molecular mechanisms of cholestatic disease in pregnancy;
  12. Irradiation effect on the liver and on liver cells;
  13. Irradiation and intracellular molecular changes;
  14. How can irradiation induce liver damage by regulating chemokine and cytokine-production.

Prof. Dr. Giuliano Ramadori
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1071 KiB  
Article
Silymarin Synergizes with Antiviral Therapy in Hepatitis B Virus-Related Liver Cirrhosis: A Propensity Score Matching Multi-Institutional Study
by Chien-Hao Huang, Victor Chien-Chia Wu, Chun-Li Wang, Chia-Ling Wu, Yu-Tung Huang and Shang-Hung Chang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(6), 3088; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25063088 - 7 Mar 2024
Viewed by 2438
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver cirrhosis (HBV-LC) presents a substantial mortality and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. While antiviral therapy (AVT) is the standard, complete HBV clearance remains elusive and may not reduce the risk of death in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Silymarin, a [...] Read more.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver cirrhosis (HBV-LC) presents a substantial mortality and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. While antiviral therapy (AVT) is the standard, complete HBV clearance remains elusive and may not reduce the risk of death in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Silymarin, a centuries-old herbal remedy, has shown promise against HBV infection and as an antifibrosis therapy. This study explores the potential of silymarin combined with AVT to reduce mortality and HCC incidence in patients with HBV-LC. This research, spanning from 2001 to 2019, entailed a multi-institutional retrospective cohort study which included 8447 HBV-LC patients all undergoing AVT. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, the study comprised two cohorts: a case cohort receiving silymarin alongside AVT for at least 30 days, and a control cohort on AVT alone. Propensity score matching, based on baseline parameters including HBV-DNA levels, comorbidity, and an important LC medication, namely, non-selective β-blockers, was employed to ensure balanced groups, resulting in 319 patients in each cohort for subsequent analyses. Overall mortality was the primary outcome, with HCC occurrence as a secondary outcome. Among 319 patients in both cohorts, the case cohort exhibited significant improvements in the international normalized ratio (INR), model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score and the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) one year after the index date. A competing risk survival analysis demonstrated superior one-year and two-year mortality outcomes in the case cohort. However, no significant impact on one-year and two-year HCC occurrence was observed in either cohort. The combination of silymarin and AVT in HBV-LC patients demonstrated a synergistic effect, leading to decreased overall mortality and an improved comorbidity index. While the incidence of HCC remained unchanged, our results suggested promising potential for further clinical trials investigating the synergistic role of silymarin in the treatment of HBV-LC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Liver Diseases: From Molecular Basis to Potential Therapy)
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20 pages, 4966 KiB  
Article
Everolimus Acts in Synergy with Vinorelbine to Suppress the Growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
by Hung Huynh, Wai Har Ng and Khee Chee Soo
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25010017 - 19 Dec 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1256
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a challenging cancer to treat, as traditional chemotherapies have shown limited effectiveness. The mammalian target of rapamycin/sirolimus (mTOR) and microtubules are prominent druggable targets for HCC. In this study, we demonstrated that co-targeting mTOR using mTOR inhibitors (everolimus and [...] Read more.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a challenging cancer to treat, as traditional chemotherapies have shown limited effectiveness. The mammalian target of rapamycin/sirolimus (mTOR) and microtubules are prominent druggable targets for HCC. In this study, we demonstrated that co-targeting mTOR using mTOR inhibitors (everolimus and sirolimus) along with the microtubule inhibitor vinorelbine yielded results superior to those of the monotherapies in HCC PDX models. Our research showed that the vinorelbine arrests cells at the mitotic phase, induces apoptosis, and normalizes tumor blood vessels but upregulates survivin and activates the mTOR/p70S6K/4EBP1 pathway. The addition of the everolimus significantly improved the tumor response to the vinorelbine, leading to improved overall survival (OS) in most tested orthotopic HCC PDX models. The mechanistic investigation revealed that this marked antitumor effect was accompanied by the downregulations of mTOR targets (p-p70S6K, p-4EBP1, and p-S6K); several key cell-cycle regulators; and the antiapoptotic protein survivin. These effects did not compromise the normalization of the blood vessels observed in response to the vinorelbine in the vinorelbine-sensitive PDX models or to the everolimus in the everolimus-sensitive PDX models. The combination of the everolimus and vinorelbine (everolimus/vinorelbine) also promoted apoptosis with minimal toxicity. Given the cost-effectiveness and established effectiveness of everolimus, and especially sirolimus, this strategy warrants further investigation in early-phase clinical trials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Liver Diseases: From Molecular Basis to Potential Therapy)
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15 pages, 2485 KiB  
Article
Circulating Extracellular Vesicle-Derived microRNAs as Novel Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers for Non-Viral-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma
by Bootsakorn Boonkaew, Nantawat Satthawiwat, Nutcha Pinjaroen, Natthaya Chuaypen and Pisit Tangkijvanich
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(22), 16043; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242216043 - 7 Nov 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1803
Abstract
Extracellular vesicle-derived microRNAs (EV-miRNAs) are promising circulating biomarkers for chronic liver disease. In this study, we explored the potential significance of plasma EV-miRNAs in non-hepatitis B-, non-hepatitis C-related HCC (NBNC-HCC). We compared, using the NanoString method, plasma EV-miRNA profiles between NBNC-HCC and control [...] Read more.
Extracellular vesicle-derived microRNAs (EV-miRNAs) are promising circulating biomarkers for chronic liver disease. In this study, we explored the potential significance of plasma EV-miRNAs in non-hepatitis B-, non-hepatitis C-related HCC (NBNC-HCC). We compared, using the NanoString method, plasma EV-miRNA profiles between NBNC-HCC and control groups including patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and healthy controls. The differentially expressed EV-miRNAs were validated in another set of plasma samples by qRT-PCR. A total of 66 significantly differentially expressed EV-miRNAs between the HCC and the control groups were identified in the discovery set. In the validation cohort, including plasma samples of 70 NBNC-HCC patients, 70 NAFLD patients, and 35 healthy controls, 5 plasma EV-miRNAs were significantly elevated in HCC, which included miR-19-3p, miR-16-5p, miR-223-3p, miR-30d-5p, and miR-451a. These miRNAs were found to participate in several cancer-related signaling pathways based on bioinformatic analysis. Among them, EV-miR-19-3p exhibited the best diagnostic performance and displayed a high sensitivity for detecting alpha-fetoprotein-negative HCC and early-stage HCC. In multivariate analysis, a high EV-miR-19-3p level was demonstrated as an independently unfavorable predictor of overall survival in patients with NBNC-HCC. In conclusion, our data have indicated, for the first time, that EV-miR-19-3p could serve as a novel circulating biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of NBNC-HCC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Liver Diseases: From Molecular Basis to Potential Therapy)
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