Intrahepatic cholestasis, a clinical syndrome, is caused by excessive accumulation of bile acids in body and liver. Proper regulation of bile acids in liver cells is critical for liver injury. We previously reported the effects of dioscin against α-naphthylisothio- cyanate (ANIT)-induced cholestasis in rats. However, the pharmacological and mechanism data are limited. In our work, the animals o...

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disorder. It is uncertain if simple steatosis, the initial and prevailing form of NAFLD, sensitizes the liver to cholestasis. Here, we compared the effects of obstructive cholestasis in rats with a normal liver versus rats with simple steatosis induced by a methionine/choline-deficient diet. We found that plasma liver enz...

Cyclosporin A (CsA), a potent immunosuppressor used in organ transplants and autoimmune diseases, is associated with adverse effects in the kidney, liver, and nervous system. This drug was recently shown to stimulate platelet aggregation, to increase thromboxane synthesis, and to decrease vascular prostacyclin synthesis. In experimental cholestasis, thrombocyte function is altered. The present ...

Background: Nitric oxide (NO), a major chemical form of endothelium-derived relaxing factor and an important regulator of vascular tone, is released by endothelial cells. The role of NO is not restricted to the vascular system, and it participates in the regulation of renal hemodynamics and renal excretory function. There are increasing evidences indicating that the elevated levels of NO play a...

The hepatic artery, through the peribiliary plexus, nourishes the intrahepatic biliary tree. During obstructive cholestasis, the nutritional demands of intrahepatic bile ducts are increased as a consequence of enhanced proliferation; in fact, the peribiliary plexus (PBP) displays adaptive expansion. The effects of hepatic artery ligation (HAL) on cholangiocyte functions during cholestasis are u...

Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is the first choice medication for most cholestatic hepatopathies, due to its capability to counteract inflammation and bile-acid-induced liver damage, two common features in cholestasis. However, UDCA is usually contraindicated in obstructive cholestasis, due to the alleged risk of biliary integrity disruption due to its choleretic effect. We report on an 83-year-ol...

BACKGROUND Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-associated liver disease of unknown etiology. The aim of this study was to investigate the change in maternal and fetal adrenal function in clinical and experimental ICP. MATERIAL/METHODS The maternal and fetal serum levels of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) were determined in 14 women with ICP and in pr...

BACKGROUND Paeonia lactiflora Pall. (PLP), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has been used for hepatic disease treatment over thousands of years. In our previous study, PLP was shown to demonstrate therapeutic effect on hepatitis with severe cholestasis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidative effect of PLP on alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT)-induced cholestasis by activ...

Cholestasis is a major complication in sepsis although the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of P-selectin and leukocyte recruitment in endotoxemia-associated cholestasis. C57BL/6 mice were challenged intraperitoneally with endotoxin (0.4 mg/kg), and 6 h later the common bile duct was cannulated for determination of bile flow and biliary excret...