Journal of Hepatology

Lipids are important components for multiple cellular functions, and most have structural or energy storage roles. However, a small fraction of lipids exerts bioactive roles through binding to G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and induce a plethora of functions including cell proliferation, differentiation, growth, migration, apoptosis, senescence and survival. Bioactive signaling lipids are potent modulators of metabolism and energy homeostasis, inflammation, tissue repair and malignant transformation. All these events are involved in the initiation and progression of chronic liver diseases...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Recent studies reported that moderate hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels are significantly associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive, non-cirrhotic patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We aimed at developing and validating a new risk score to predict HCC development using baseline moderate HBV DNA levels in patients entering into HBeAg-positive CHB from chronic infection. METHODS: This multicenter cohort study recruited 3,585 HBeAg-positive, non-cirrhotic patients who started antiviral treatment with entecavir or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate at phase change into CHB from chronic infection in twenty-three tertiary university-affiliated hospitals of South Korea (2012-2020)...

Gastrointestinal endoscopy has always formed a reliable and indispensable backbone in the diagnosis and management of hepatobilary disorders and their complications. However, with evolving non-invasive testing, personalized medicine has reframed the utility and necessity of endoscopical screening. Conversely, the growing interest and use of endoscopic ultrasound and advanced endoscopy within gastrointestinal units has also opened novel diagnostic and therapeutic avenues for patients with various hepatobiliary diseases...

While the links between metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease liver disease (MASLD) and obesity, insulin resistance are widely appreciated, there are a host of complex interactions between the liver and other endocrine axes. While it can be difficult to definitively distinguish direct causal relationships and those attributable to increased adipocyte mass, there is substantial evidence of direct and indirect specific endocrine dysregulation and severity of MASLD. Strong evidence of direct and indirect effects exists for low levels of growth hormone, sex hormones, and thyroid hormone with development and severity of disease...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: There is controversy regarding the optimal calcineurin inhibitor type after liver transplantation (LT) in primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). We compared tacrolimus with cyclosporine in a propensity score-matched intention-to-treat analysis based on registries representing nearly all LTs in Europe and the US. METHODS: From the European Liver Transplant Registry (ELTR) and Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR), we included adult patients with PSC and primary LT between 2000-2020...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Remodeling the tumor microenvironment is a critical strategy for treating advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Yet it remains poorly understood how distinct cell populations in the microenvironment mediate tumor resistance to immunotherapy such as anti-PD-1. METHODS: We analyzed the transcriptomic profiling at a single-cell resolution within tumor tissues from HCC patients scheduled to receive anti-PD-1-based immunotherapy. Our comparative analysis and experimental validation using flow cytometry and histopathological analysis uncovered a discrete subpopulation of cells associated with resistance to anti-PD-1 treatment in HCC patients and a rat model...

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) predicts hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after liver transplant (LT) but remains an imperfect biomarker. The role of DCP (des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin) and AFP-L3 (AFP bound to Lens culinaris agglutinin) in predicting HCC recurrence remains incompletely characterized. AFP-L3 and DCP could identify patients at high risk of post-transplant HCC recurrence and serve as liver transplant exclusion criteria to defer transplant until patients receive additional risk-reducing pre-transplant local regional therapy...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: &Aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now a growing chronic pandemic and associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, how NAFLD affects the development and progression of CVD remains unclear and debatable. METHODS: Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) from steatotic hepatocytes were isolated, characterized, and used to investigate the role and mechanisms of how hepatic steatosis promotes macrophage-derived foam cells formation and atherosclerosis (AS) progression...