BACKGROUND TGF-β has been known to play an important role in various liver diseases including fibrosis and alcohol-induced fatty liver. Smad7 is an intracellular negative regulator of TGF-β signaling. It is currently unclear whether endogenous Smad7 has an effect on liver function and alcoholic liver damage. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We used Cre/loxP system by crossing Alb-Cre mice with ...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Pro-inflammatory cytokines are important for liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PH). Expression of Fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 (Fn14), the receptor for TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK), is induced rapidly after PH and remains elevated throughout the period of peak hepatocyte replication. The role of Fn14 in post-PH liver regeneration is uncertain...

In article number 2007425, Junmin Lee, Ali Khademhosseini, and co-workers present a breakthrough for modeling of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on bioengineered multicellular microtissues liver-on-a-chip system. The consisting four major cell types (primary human hepatocytes, stellate cells, Kupffer endothelial cells) recapitulate the pathogenesis hepatic fibrosis driven by NAF...

ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) limits the formation of high density lipoproteins (HDL) as genetic loss ABCA1 function causes virtual HDL deficiency in patients with Tangier disease. Mice a hepatocyte-specific knockout (Abca1 HSKO) have 20% wild type (WT) plasma HDL-cholesterol levels, suggesting major contribution hepatic to phenotype. Whether sphingolipids are reduced disease and ...

Liver parenchymal cells play a dominant role in hepatic metabolism and thereby total body cholesterol homeostasis. To gain insight into the specific pathways and genes involved in the response of liver parenchymal cells to increased dietary lipid levels under atherogenic conditions, changes in parenchymal cell gene expression upon feeding a Western-type diet for 0, 2, 4, and 6 weeks were determ...

Background: Male infertility is responsible for approximately 50% of infertility in the world. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) is one of the causative agents of infertility in males which effects on sperm quality and function. In this study, the effects of oxidative stress induced by tertiary-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) were investigated on sperm quality, testis tissue and miRNAs expression. Mater...

Background: The present study was carried out to investigate the possible protective effects of royal jelly (RJ) on oxymetholone (OXM)-induced oxidative liver injuries in mice. Methods: In total, 32 adult male NMRI mice were divided into four groups of eight mice each. Mice in groups 1 and 2 were orally administered 5 mg/kg/day OXM for 30 days. At the same time, mice in group 3 received RJ at a...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW We will review the recent developments of cell sheet technology as a feasible tissue engineering approach. Specifically, we will focus on the technological advancement for engineering functional liver tissue using cell sheet technology, and the associated therapeutic effect of cell sheets for liver diseases, highlighting hemophilia. RECENT FINDINGS Cell-based therapies using...

background: our study aimed at substantiating the recent claim of myo-cardial complications in severe malaria by experimentally inducing severe plasmodium falciparum infection in a humanized mouse model employed as human surrogate. methods: twenty five humanized mice were inoculated with standard in vitro cultured p. falciparum and blood extracts collected from the inner cardiac muscles of infe...