MENGTING LI^*, YI-ER QIU, KAIFENG ZHENG

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.4, pp. 1089-1096, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.013432

Abstract The effect of the baicalin, a bio-active flavonoid extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, on the carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) induced liver fibrosis was investigated. To compare the effect of baicalin on the liver fibrosis, five different groups of rats treated by 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg baicalin were studied. Upon CCl₄ treatment, the levels of procollagen type III, aspartate aminotransferase, aminotransferase, hyaluronic acid, and hydroxyproline were significantly increased, whereas the superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase content were decreased. These changes in the biochemical parameters, which are associated with liver function, were significantly attenuated by the baicalin treatment, suggesting that baicalin can… More >

FUJI YANG¹, YAN HUANG¹, YOUWEN TAN^2,*, YONGMIN YAN^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 389-400, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.015899

Abstract Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a long-lasting condition that affects the liver, destroying its function. Liver injury can cause steatosis and inflammation, and further activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) often leads to the development of nonalcoholic liver fibrosis. The patient with NAFLD is at risk of developing advanced liver disease and complications, such as liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and portal hypertension. Although our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of NAFLD has greatly improved in recent years, treatment remains limited. Analysis and characterization of protein posttranslational modifications (PTMs) could improve our understanding of NAFLD pathology and… More >

SHUCAI WU^1,#, DENGRUI LI^1,#, SUMIN GUO¹, LI GAO², YONGHUI YANG^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.2, pp. 339-344, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.011379

Abstract Since stem cell therapy is the most effective treatment in the field of tissue reparation and reconstitution, the present study aimed to explore the different sources of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on the different effects of pulmonary fibrosis-related cytokines in C57BL/6 mice. For reaching this goal, we isolated MSCs from umbilical cord blood and placenta and used for stem cell therapy in a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis model. The pulmonary fibrosis model was done by injecting bleomycin into the trachea of C57BL/6 mice. Then we assessed the degree of pulmonary fibrosis in each mouse lung tissue at weeks 1,… More >

Jessica L. Schachter¹, Manisha Patel², Samuel R. Horton³, A. Mike Devane⁴, Alex Ewing⁵, Gary A. Abrams⁶

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.5, pp. 764-770, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12650

Abstract Objective: As the population of patients with Fontan circulation surviving into adult‐ hood increases, hepatic cirrhosis has grown to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Early detection of advanced hepatic fibrosis is imperative for proper inter‐ vention and consideration for heart or combined heart/liver transplantation. Noninvasive biomarkers and elastography have been evaluated for their diagnostic utility with variable results in the Fontan population.
Design: The cohort included 14 patients age 26.4 SD 7.5 who underwent Fontan surgery. All patients were evaluated with FibroSURE, shear wave elastography (SWE), hepatic duplex sonography, and liver biopsy. Liver fibrosis on biopsy was… More >

William N. Evans^1,2, Ruben J. Acherman^1,2, Michael L. Ciccolo^1,3, Sergio A. Carrillo^1,2, Alvaro Galindo^1,2, Abraham Rothman^1,2, Gary A. Mayman^1,2, Elizabeth A. Adams^1,2, Leigh C. Reardon^1,4, Brody J. Winn⁵, Noel S. Yumiaco⁵, Lesley Shimuizu¹, Yoko Inanaga¹, Rowena J. Deleon¹, Humberto Restrepo^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.1, pp. 38-45, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12558

Abstract Objective: We hypothesized that clinic-based, hepatic-ultrasound, elastography measurements, either alone or in combination with other noninvasive variables, might correlate with liver-biopsy fibrosis scores in patients post-Fontan.
Methods: Between March 2012 and February 2017, we identified patients post-Fontan that underwent elective cardiac catheterization and simultaneous transvenous hepatic biopsy. From this group, we selected patients that met inclusion criteria for liver-ultrasound, shear-wave elastography. Utilizing the results of elastography, laboratory testing, and time post-Fontan, we constructed a composite Fontan hepatic index as a sum of elastography measurements in kilopascals, model for end-stage liver disease excluding INR scores, and the square root of the… More >

WALTER MANUCHA

BIOCELL, Vol.31, No.1, pp. 1-12, 2007, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2007.31.001

Abstract Congenital obstructive nephropathy is the primary cause of end-stage renal disease in children. Rapid diagnosis and initiation of the treatment are vital to preserve function and/or to slow down renal injury. Obstructive uropathy effects -decline in the plasmatic renal flow and glomerular filtration rate, interstitial infiltrate of leukocytes, significant decrease of the urine concentration, loss of the capacity to concentrate urine as well as fibrosis and apoptosis- are a consequence of a variety of factors that work in complex ways and are still not fully understood. Mediators as angiotensin II, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and nitric oxide (NO) have been… More >