In order to cast light on the anti-cholestatic and cytoprotective properties of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), intrahepatic transport and secretion of bile salts and biliary phospholipids were investigated by using isolated perfused livers from colchicine-pretreated rats. Administration of taurocholic acid (TCA) after colchicine pretreatment induced marked cholestasis. Tauroursodeoxycholic acid (...

The role of nerve growth factor (NGF) in liver injury induced by bile duct ligation (BDL) remains elusive. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between inflammation and hepatic NGF expression, to explore the possible upstream molecules up-regulating NGF, and to determine whether NGF could protect hepatocytes from oxidative liver injury. Biochemical and molecular detection showed tha...

Taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA), but not glycochenodeoxycholic acid (GCDCA), activates a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K)-mediated survival pathway in vitro. Here, the effects of PI3-K inhibition on TCDCA- and GCDCA-induced hepatocellular injury, apoptosis, and bile secretion were examined in the intact liver. In isolated perfused rat livers, bile flow was determined gravimetrically. He...

Biliary epithelia express high levels of CD44 in hepatobiliary diseases. The role of CD44-hyaluronic acid interaction in biliary pathology, however, is unclear. A rat model of hepatic cholestasis induced by bile duct ligation was employed for characterization of hepatic CD44 expression and extracellular hyaluronan distribution. Cell culture experiments were employed to determine whether hyaluro...

The neuromuscular blocking effects of Org 6368 and Org NC 45 were studied in rats with experimental cholestasis and in controls. The effect of Org NC 45 during infusion of taurocholate was investigated. In cholestatic rats we observed a three-fold increase of the duration of action of Org 6368 and Org NC 45. The same was observed for Org NC 45 with taurocholate. In the rat phrenic nerve-hemidia...

Cholestatic liver diseases result from impaired bile flow and are characterized by inflammation, atypical ductular proliferation, and fibrosis. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway plays a role in bile duct development, yet its role in cholestatic injury remains indeterminate. Liver-specific β-catenin knockout mice and wild-type littermates were subjected to cholestatic injury through bile duct ligation o...

Extrahepatic manifestations of hepatitis A are very unusual. We describe a case of prolonged cholestatic hepatitis A in a patient with generalized lymphadenopathy. With normalization of transaminases, there was an accompanying reduction in size of these lymph nodes. Lymphadenopathy reflects ongoing hepatic inflammation in prolonged cholestatic hepatitis A.

Fatigue is an important symptom and a quality of life determinant in patients with cholestatic liver disease. The pathogenesis of fatigue is obscure, although alterations in central neurotransmission and peripheral muscle dysfunction have been incriminated. No effective treatment is available at present. The available literature on fatigue in cholestatic liver disease is reviewed.

Preclinical animal toxicity studies may not accurately predict human toxicity. In light of this, in vitro systems have been developed that have the potential to supplement or even replace animal use. We examined in vitro to in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) of gene expression data obtained from The Open Japanese Toxicogenomics Project-Genomics Assisted Toxicity Evaluation System (Open TG-GATEs) for...