Hepatic ischemia and reperfusion cause local and remote organ injury. This injury culminates from an integrated cascade of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and adhesion molecules, many of which are regulated by the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). The anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) has been shown to have inhibitory effects on NF-kappaB. The object...

Heme oxygenase (HO)-1, the rate-limiting enzyme in heme catabolism, can be induced in response to various oxidative stimuli, and its induction is thought to be critical in the cellular defense against oxidative tissue injuries. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) treatment of rats causes lipid peroxidation of cell membranes and produces massive hepatic injury. We previously demonstrated that HO-1 ind...

Background: Human Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem cells (HWJMSCs) express liver-specific markers such as albumin, alpha-fetoprotein, cytokeratin-19, cytokeratin-18, and glucose-6-phosphatase. Therefore, they can be considered as a good source for cell replacement therapy for liver diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of various culture systems on the hepatocyte-specific gene expr...

The secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) can attenuate the host proinflammatory response by blocking nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB)-mediated tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) production in macrophages. We have previously shown that highly metastatic human and mouse carcinoma cells, on their entry into the hepatic microcirculation, trigger a rapid host proinflammatory response ...

Inborn errors of mitochondrial beta-oxidation cause ectopic fat accumulation, particularly in the liver. Fatty liver is associated with insulin resistance and predisposes to hepatic fibrosis. The factors underlying the pathophysiological consequences of hepatic fat accumulation have remained poorly defined. Gene expression profiling in a model of acute fatty liver disease induced by blocking lo...

Inflammatory agents such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) down-regulate the hepatic expression of many cytochrome P450 (P450) mRNAs and proteins. Previous studies suggested that suppression of some P450 mRNAs could involve the regulation or modulation of the nuclear receptors peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) or pregnane X receptor (PXR). To determine the involvement of th...