Objective(s): Oleate can be produced through de novo synthesis, which contributes to biological processes and signaling pathways. However, the role of this non-essential fatty acid in hepatic development remains unclear. The current study aimed to evaluate the influence of early oleate deficiency induced by the inhibitor of de novo oleate synthesis MF-438 on fetal rat ...

Objective(s): Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) is one of the major causes of hepatic failure during liver transplantation, trauma, and infections. The present study investigated the protective effect of intra-portal administration of 2-methoxycinnamaldehyde (2-MCA) on hepatic IRI in rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four rats ...

UNLABELLED The cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) plays a pleiotropic role in innate immunity and is a crucial mediator of liver disease. In this study, we investigated the impact of CB2 receptors on the regenerative process associated with liver injury. Following acute hepatitis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)), CB2 was induced in the nonparenchymal cell fraction and remained undetectable in...

Old rats are resistant to fibrate-induced hypolipidemia owing to a reduction in hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha). We tested whether the age-related decrease in PPARalpha is prevented by atorvastatin (ATV), a hypolipidemic statin. We determined the activity and expression of Liver X receptor alpha (LXRalpha) and PPARalpha in the liver of 18-month-old rats trea...

Background: Human embryonic stem cells (hESC), which are derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocysts, have been considered to be pluripotent cells. In this study we examine the differentiating potential of hESC into hepatocytes by characterization of the expression of endoderm and liver-specific genes. Methods: hESC were cultivated in suspension to form aggregates, the embryoid bodies. ...

Protective effects of boswellic acid (BA) against acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity in Balb/ cA mice were examined. BA, at 0.05 or 0.1%, was supplied for 4 weeks. Acute liver injury was induced by APAP treatment. Results showed that BA intake increased hepatic BA bioavailability. APAP treatment decreased glutathione (GSH) level, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidized glu...

The human organic anion transporter 2 (hOAT2, SLC22A7) mediates the sodium-independent uptake of numerous drugs, including cephalosporins, salicylates, dicarboxylates, and prostaglandins, and is mainly expressed in hepatocytes. Because the regulation of hOAT2 expression is poorly understood, we characterized cis-acting elements in the 5'-flanking region that regulate hOAT2 transcription. A cons...

During inflammation, drug metabolism and clearance are altered due to suppression of hepatic drug-metabolizing enzyme (DME) genes and their regulatory nuclear receptors (NRs) [pregnane X receptor, constitutive androstane receptor, and retinoid X receptor alpha (RXRalpha)]. The bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), induces expression of proinflammatory cytokines in the liver, which cont...

Hepatocyte nuclear factor-4 alpha (HNF-4α) is an orphan nuclear receptor with important roles in hepatic metabolism. Protein phosphorylation plays a functional role in its nuclear localization, DNA binding, and transactivation. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is a hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland, whose direct effect on the metabolic pathway has been observed. Our previous stu...