Microcirculation of liver cancer, microenvironment of liver regeneration, and the strategy of Chinese medicine

Yadanziolide A Inhibits Proliferation and Induces Apoptosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma via JAK-STAT Pathway: A Preclinical Study

Liver cancer is a significant global health concern, prompting the search for innovative therapeutic solutions. Yadanziolide A (Y-A), a natural derivative of Brucea javanica, has emerged as a promising candidate for cancer treatment; however, its efficacy and underlying mechanisms in liver cancer remain incompletely understood. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation of Y-A's effects on liver cancer cells using a range of in vitro assays and an orthotopic liver cancer mouse model. Our findings reveal that Y-A exerts dose-dependent cytotoxic effects on liver cancer cells, significantly inhibiting proliferation, migration, and invasion at concentrations ≥ 0.1 μM. Furthermore, Y-A induces apoptosis, as evidenced by increased apoptotic cell populations and apoptosome formation. In vivo studies confirm that Y-A inhibits tumor growth and reduces liver damage in mouse models. Mechanistically, Y-A targets the TNF-α/STAT3 pathway, inhibiting STAT3 and JAK2 phosphorylation, thereby activating apoptotic pathways and suppressing tumor cell growth. These results suggest that Y-A has promising anticancer activity and potential utility in liver cancer therapy.

A multi-parametric prognostic model based on clinicopathologic features: vessels encapsulating tumor clusters and hepatic plates predict overall survival in hepatocellular carcinoma patients

BACKGROUND

Vessels encapsulating tumor clusters (VETC) is a newly described vascular pattern that is distinct from microvascular invasion (MVI) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite its importance, the current pathological diagnosis report does not include information on VETC and hepatic plates (HP). We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of integrating VETC and HP (VETC-HP model) in the assessment of HCC.

METHODS

A total of 1255 HCC patients who underwent radical surgery were classified into training (879 patients) and validation (376 patients) cohorts. Additionally, 37 patients treated with lenvatinib were studied, included 31 patients in high-risk group and 6 patients in low-risk group. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was used to establish a prognostic model for the training set. Harrell's concordance index (C-index), time-dependent receiver operating characteristics curve (tdROC), and decision curve analysis were utilized to evaluate our model's performance by comparing it to traditional tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging for individualized prognosis.

RESULTS

A prognostic model, VETC-HP model, based on risk scores for overall survival (OS) was established. The VETC-HP model demonstrated robust performance, with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.832 and 0.780 for predicting 3- and 5-year OS in the training cohort, and 0.805 and 0.750 in the validation cohort, respectively. The model showed superior prediction accuracy and discrimination power compared to TNM staging, with C-index values of 0.753 and 0.672 for OS and disease-free survival (DFS) in the training cohort, and 0.728 and 0.615 in the validation cohort, respectively, compared to 0.626 and 0.573 for TNM staging in the training cohort, and 0.629 and 0.511 in the validation cohort. Thus, VETC-HP model had higher C-index than TNM stage system(p < 0.01).Furthermore, in the high-risk group, lenvatinib alone appeared to offer less clinical benefit but better disease-free survival time.

CONCLUSIONS

The VETC-HP model enhances DFS and OS prediction in HCC compared to traditional TNM staging systems. This model enables personalized temporal survival estimation, potentially improving clinical decision-making in surveillance management and treatment strategies.

Assessment of disease control rate and safety of sorafenib in targeted therapy for advanced liver cancer

OBJECTIVE

The clinical efficacy and safety of sorafenib in patients with advanced liver cancer (ALC) were evaluated based on transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).

METHODS

92 patients with ALC admitted to our hospital from May 2020 to August 2022 were randomly rolled into a control (Ctrl) group and an observation (Obs) group, with 46 patients in each. Patients in the Ctrl group received TACE treatment, while those in the Obs group received sorafenib molecular targeted therapy (SMTT) on the basis of the treatment strategy in the Ctrl group (400 mg/dose, twice daily, followed by a 4-week follow-up observation). Clinical efficacy, disease control rate (DCR), survival time (ST), immune indicators (CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+), and adverse reactions (ARs) (including mild fatigue, liver pain, hand-foot syndrome (HFS), diarrhea, and fever) were compared for patients in different groups after different treatments.

RESULTS

the DCR in the Obs group (90%) was greatly higher to that in the Ctrl group (78%), showing an obvious difference (P < 0.05). The median ST in the Obs group was obviously longer and the median disease progression time (DPT) was shorter, exhibiting great differences with those in the Ctrl group (P < 0.05). Moreover, no great difference was observed in laboratory indicators between patients in various groups (P > 0.05). After treatment, the Obs group exhibited better levels in all indicators. Furthermore, the incidence of ARs in the Obs group was lower and exhibited a sharp difference with that in the Ctrl group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

SMTT had demonstrated good efficacy in patients with ALC, improving the DCR, enhancing the immune response of the body, and reducing the incidence of ARs, thereby promoting the disease outcome. Therefore, it was a treatment method worthy of promotion and application.

The Indispensable Roles of GMDS and GMDS-AS1 in the Advancement of Cancer: Fucosylation, Signal Pathway and Molecular Pathogenesis

Fucosylation is facilitated by converting GDP-mannose to GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose, which GDP-mannose 4,6-dehydratase, a crucial enzyme in the route, carries out. One of the most prevalent glycosylation alterations linked to cancer has reportedly been identified as fucosylation. There is mounting evidence that GMDS is intimately linked to the onset and spread of cancer. Furthermore, the significance of long-chain non-coding RNAs in the development and metastasis of cancer is becoming more well-recognized, and the regulatory mechanism of lncRNAs has emerged as a prominent area of study in the biological sciences. GMDS-AS1, an antisense RNA of GMDS, was discovered to have the potential to be an oncogene. We have acquired and analyzed relevant data to understand better how GMDS-AS1 and its lncRNA work physiologically and in tumorigenesis and progression. Additionally, we have looked into the possible effects of these molecules on cancer treatment approaches and patient outcomes. The physiological roles and putative processes of GMDS and lncRNA GMDS-AS1 throughout the development and progression of tumors have been assembled and examined. We also examined how these chemicals might affect patient prognosis and cancer therapy approaches. GMDS and GMDS-AS1 were determined to be research subjects by searching and gathering pertinent studies using the PubMed system. The analysis of these research articles demonstrated the close relationship between GMDS and GMDS-AS1 and tumorigenesis and the factors that influence them. GMDS plays a vital role in regulating fucosylation. The related antisense gene GMDS-AS1 affects the biological behaviors of cancer cells through multiple pathways, including the key processes of proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis, providing potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for cancer treatment and prognosis assessment.

Epigenetic inhibition of lncRNA GMDS-AS1 by methyltransferase ESET promoted cell viability and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNAs) GMDS-AS1 has been reported as a tumor regulator in tumor growth and metastasis, but its effect in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. ESET, a histone H3K9 methyl-transferase, is involved in epigenomic regulation of tumor progression in multiple cancers. However, the correlation between ESET and lncRNA in HCC is less reported.

METHODS

Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was taken to determine the expression of ESET and GMDS-AS1. Western blot was taken to determine the target protein levels of ESET and GMDS-AS1. Online database and bioinformatics analysis were used to screen abnormally expressed genes. Luciferase assay was performed to confirm the binding of GMDS-AS1 and PSMB1. Ki67 and Edu were used for evaluated the proliferation of tumor cells. ChIP assay was performed to verify the relationship between H3K9me1 and lncRNA GMDS-AS1 promoter. Transwell was taken to determine the migration and invasion ability of tumor cells. CCK-8 was used for determining the viability of tumor cells. Flow cytometry was performed to detect the cell cycle of tumor cells.

RESULTS

The expression of GMDS-AS1 was decreased and the expression of ESET was increased in HCC. GMDS-AS1 inhibition contributed to tumor development, and this effect was closely related to epigenetic inhibition of GMDS-AS1 by ESET. PSMB1, a downstream target of GMDS-AS1, promoted the tumor proliferation and was negatively regulated by GMDS-AS1.

CONCLUSION

Our result demonstrates anti-tumorigenic traits of lncRNA GMDS-AS1 in HCC and explains its pattern of regulation mediated by ESET. Our work unmasked an essential role of GMDS-AS1 in HCC progression and detected a novel pathway for ESET to promote HCC.

Targeted delivery and apoptosis induction activity of peptide-transferrin targeted mesoporous silica encapsulated resveratrol in MCF-7 cells

OBJECTIVES

Resveratrol (Res) was a naturally occurring polyphenol compound. It has various beneficial effects, including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-cancer effects. However, the anti-cancer activity was hindered by its low targeting and drug release performance. Thus, we synthesized transferrin-cathepsin B cleavable peptide modified mesoporous silica nanoparticle encapsulated Res (Tf-Res-MSN).

METHODS

Res was encapsulated in mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN), which was a kind of drug carrier complex. Tf was modified to recognize the cancer cells. Cathepsin B cleavable peptide (Pep) was used to combine Res-MSN complex and Tf to construct the final product. Pep was used as linker and trigger for Res release.

KEY FINDINGS

The smart nanocarriers were increased the drug release performance of Res in human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells. The physicochemical properties of Tf-Res-MSN were assessed by zeta potential, UV-Prove, diffraction scanning calorimetry (DSC), nitrogen physisorption analysis and transmission electron microscope (TEM). MTT assay, AO and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining were performed to explore the anti-tumour activity of Tf-Res-MSN. The results showed that Tf-Res-MSN significantly decreased cell viability and increased cell apoptosis. The inhibition rate and apoptotic rate of Tf-Res-MSN in MCF-7 cells were 95.75% and 80.8%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated that Tf-Res-MSN was a valuable technique with potential value in breast cancer applications.

Systematic analysis of the role and significance of target genes of active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine injections in the progression and immune microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine in China is an important adjuvant therapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and traditional Chinese medicines injections have a wide range of clinical applications. The purpose of this study was to identify the active ingredients and related genes of traditional Chinese medicine injections that can treat hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: Effective small molecule components were extracted from 14 types of traditional Chinese medicines from 8 injections and the main gene targets were identified. The 968 patients with HCC were classified based on the target gene set, and the characteristics of patients with different subtypes were analyzed. Patients with two subtypes of HCC were compared with normal tissues and cirrhosis to identify important gene targets related to traditional Chinese medicines in HCC progression. Results: In this study, 138 important genes associated with traditional Chinese medicines were identified and two HCC subtypes were identified. By analyzing the differences between the two subtypes, 25 related genes were associated with HCC subtypes. Through clinical and pharmacological analysis, this study identified quercetin as an important traditional Chinese medicines small molecule and secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) as an important oncogene in HCC. Conclusion: Traditional Chinese medicines injection is an important adjuvant treatment modality for HCC. SPP1 is an important oncogene in HCC.

Classification of multi-differentiated liver cancer pathological images based on deep learning attention mechanism

PURPOSE

Liver cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world, ranking fifth in malignant tumors. The degree of differentiation can reflect the degree of malignancy. The degree of malignancy of liver cancer can be divided into three types: poorly differentiated, moderately differentiated, and well differentiated. Diagnosis and treatment of different levels of differentiation are crucial to the survival rate and survival time of patients. As the gold standard for liver cancer diagnosis, histopathological images can accurately distinguish liver cancers of different levels of differentiation. Therefore, the study of intelligent classification of histopathological images is of great significance to patients with liver cancer. At present, the classification of histopathological images of liver cancer with different degrees of differentiation has disadvantages such as time-consuming, labor-intensive, and large manual investment. In this context, the importance of intelligent classification of histopathological images is obvious.

METHODS

Based on the development of a complete data acquisition scheme, this paper applies the SENet deep learning model to the intelligent classification of all types of differentiated liver cancer histopathological images for the first time, and compares it with the four deep learning models of VGG16, ResNet50, ResNet_CBAM, and SKNet. The evaluation indexes adopted in this paper include confusion matrix, Precision, recall, F1 Score, etc. These evaluation indexes can be used to evaluate the model in a very comprehensive and accurate way.

RESULTS

Five different deep learning classification models are applied to collect the data set and evaluate model. The experimental results show that the SENet model has achieved the best classification effect with an accuracy of 95.27%. The model also has good reliability and generalization ability. The experiment proves that the SENet deep learning model has a good application prospect in the intelligent classification of histopathological images.

CONCLUSIONS

This study also proves that deep learning has great application value in solving the time-consuming and laborious problems existing in traditional manual film reading, and it has certain practical significance for the intelligent classification research of other cancer histopathological images.

Ophiopogonin‑B targets PTP1B to inhibit the malignant progression of hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating the PI3K/AKT and AMPK signaling pathways

Ophiopogonin‑B (OP‑B) is a bioactive component from the root of Ophiopogon japonicus, which can exert anticancer effects on multiple malignant tumors. The present study aimed to uncover the effects of OP‑B on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the underlying mechanisms. An HCC‑xenografted mouse model was established and subsequently treated with OP‑B (15 and 75 mg/kg) to observe the effects of OP‑B on HCC progression and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) expression in vivo. The HCC cell line MHCC97‑H was transfected with either PTP1B overexpression (Ov)‑PTP1B or empty vector control, and then exposed to different concentrations of OP‑B. Subsequently, PTP1B expression, cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion and angiogenesis were evaluated by western blotting, reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR, Cell Counting Kit‑8, colony formation, TUNEL staining, wound healing, Transwell and tube formation assays. The expression of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/AKT and adenosine 5'‑monophosphate‑activated protein kinase (AMPK) was also assessed by western blot assay. The results showed that OP‑B inhibited tumor growth and the expression of Ki67, CD31, VEGFA and PTP1B in HCC xenograft model. The expression of PTP1B in HCC cells was also inhibited by OP‑B in a concentration‑dependent manner. Results from the in vitro studies revealed that OP‑B suppressed cell proliferation, migration, invasion and angiogenesis, and promoted apoptosis of HCC cells. However, PTP1B overexpression reversed the effect of OP‑B on HCC cells. PI3K/AKT was inactivated and AMPK was activated by OP‑B exposure in HCC cells, and PTP1B overexpression blocked these effects. In conclusion, OP‑B effectively inhibited the progression of HCC both in vivo and in vitro. These effects may depend on downregulating PTP1B expression, thereby inactivating the PI3K/AKT pathway and activating the AMPK pathway.

Exploration of the Potential Mechanism of Calculus Bovis in Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer by Network Pharmacology

AIM AND OBJECTIVE

Calculus Bovis (CB) has been employed to treat diseases for a long time. It has been identified to play significant anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor roles. However, the mechanism of treating primary liver cancer (PLC) remains to be revealed. This study aims to clarify the molecules and mechanisms of CB in treating PLC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

After oral bioavailability (OB) and drug-likeness (DL) screening, 15 small molecules were identified as the potential ingredients against PLC. Following this, related targets network constructions and pathways were applied to clarify the mechanism of CB in treating PLC. An in vitro experiment was carried out to identify the function of CB in treating PLC.

RESULTS

Eleven compounds of CB were identified that play an anti-PLC role, including oleanolic acid, ergosterol, ursolic acid, etc. The potential targets which were observed include IL6, MAPK-8, VEGFA, Caspase-3, etc. Further analysis showed that the mechanism of CB in the treatment of PLC involved apoptosis-related pathways and immune-related pathways.

CONCLUSION

In summary, the current study combines network pharmacology and in vitro experiments to reveal the mechanism of CB against PLC. We concluded that 11 ingredients of CB have an anti-PLC effect. Furthermore, CB plays a key role in treating PLC mainly by apoptosisrelated pathways and immune-related pathways. Our experiment verifies that CB promotes the apoptosis of SMMC-7721.

Design of Liver Functional Reserve Estimation Technique Based on Optical Densitometry

This work is aimed at creating a modified invasive technique for assessing the liver's functional reserves. A study of the degree of hepatodepression is carried out by measuring the plasma elimination of indocyanine green using the method of optical densitometry. This paper presents test results for an aqueous solution and an albumin solution, as well as the results of measurements of plasma elimination of indocyanine green for patients with liver disease. Perfecting the proposed method will make an important scientific contribution to modern diagnostic medicine. Diagnosing the stages in the progression of the disease and its developing complications can make it possible to rapidly correct the patient's treatment algorithm, achieving positive outcomes in medical practice.

Ingredients, Anti-Liver Cancer Effects and the Possible Mechanism of DWYG Formula Based on Network Prediction

Background

Hepatitis virus infection plays a critical role in liver cancer initiation and development; so the purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-liver cancer effects of DiWuYangGan (DWYG) which was effective for hepatitis.

Methods

Network predictions were performed. Next, several tests, including HPLC, Caco-2 absorption models, MMT, protein chip, Western blotting and H₂₂-tumor-bearing mouse, were carried out to investigate the effects and possible mechanism of DWYG.

Results

Network results showed DWYG might be involved in some processes such as STAT cascade. Some target genes may correspondingly participate in these procedures, such as IL-6, CASP3, AKT1, PPAR, and TP53. Diseases associated with DWYG formula may be liver cancer and hepatitis. Potential active compounds might be CUR and ISO. Chemical analysis results showed that ingredients in the formula, including DEO, SCHB, SOLA, SOLB, SCHA, LIQ, ISO, POT, and CHL, could be determined, indicating that DWYG samples for the following experiments were controllable and consistent. Caco-2 absorption of ingredients in DWYG, including DEO, SCHB, SOLA, SOLB, and LIQ, worked very well. In vitro experiment results showed that DWYG could inhibit the growth of cell lines and its effective ingredients might be SCHB, SOLB, SINA, SINB, SOLB, CUR, DEM, BIS, and GER. Further protein results showed that DWYG could upregulate the expressions of some proteins, including ERK1/2, AKT Ser473, BAD Ser112, PRAS40, Thr246, P38, Gsk-3β, and Ser9. In vivo experiment results showed that DWYG could shrink tumor size, recover ALT and AST, and decrease IL-6 levels. Their possible mechanism might be through the JAK/STAT3 pathway.

Conclusion

Besides the known pharmacological function of anti-hepatitis, DWYG extract expressed anti-liver cancer effects and the results were consistent partly with network predictions.

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Investigation of the pharmacodynamic substances in dahuang zhechong pill that inhibit energy metabolism

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Dahuang Zhechong pill (DHZCP) is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of hepatocarcinoma.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Previous studies have found that DHZCP can exert anti-hepatocarcinoma effects and reverse drug resistance by inhibiting energy metabolism. The goal of this study was to further explore the pharmacodynamic substances that inhibit energy metabolism.

METHODS

The components of DHZCP absorbed into plasma were identified by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. The Swiss and STITCH databases were used for target collection. The DAVID database was used for pathway enrichment analysis. Cytoscape software was used for network construction. The CCK-8 method detected cell viability. Chemiluminescence was used to detect ATP levels.

RESULTS

A total of 89 components absorbed into plasma were identified by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. Based on this, 24 potential pharmacodynamic substances were selected by network pharmacology. Among them, 11 components such as rhein can significantly inhibit ATP levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Rhein, emodin, chrysophanol, hypoxanthine, baicalein, baicalin, wogonoside, acteoside, formononetin, isoliquiritigenin, and glycyrrhizic acid were the pharmacodynamic substances responsible for inhibition of energy metabolism of DHZCP.

Research Progress in Liver-Regenerating Microenvironment and DNA Methylation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: The Role of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The development, progression, recurrence, and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are closely associated with an abnormal liver-regenerating microenvironment (LRM). Therefore, preventing and reversing an abnormal LRM is a potential therapeutic strategy against HCC. Studies are increasingly focusing on the impact of regeneration, fibrosis, angiogenesis, inflammation, immunomodulation, and hepatic stem cells on HCC development and progression. As a key epigenetic mechanism, DNA methylation is extensively involved in regulating physiological and pathological pathways. In this review, we summarize recent findings on the role of DNA methylation in the fibrotic, angiogenic, inflammatory/immune, and stem cell microenvironments of HCC, and discuss new advances in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) on influencing the abnormal LRM, so as to gain new insights into alleviating the abnormal LRM via regulating DNA methylation by TCM.

Liver regeneration in traditional Chinese medicine: advances and challenges

Liver diseases pose a serious problem for national health care system all over the world. Liver regeneration has profound impacts on the occurrence and development of various liver diseases, and it remains an extensively studied topic. Although current knowledge has suggested two major mechanisms for liver regeneration, including compensatory hyperplasia of hepatocytes and stem or progenitor cell-mediated regeneration, the complexity of this physiopathological process determines that its effective regulation cannot be achieved by single-target or single-component approaches. Alternatively, using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to regulate liver regeneration is an important strategy for prevention and treatment of liver disorder and the related diseases. From the perspectives of TCM, liver regeneration can be caused by the disrupted balance between hepatic damage and regenerative capacity, and the "marrow"-based approaches have important therapeutic implications for liver regeneration. These two points have been massively supported by a number of basic studies and clinical observations during recent decades. TCM has the advantages of overall dynamic fine-tuning and early adjustment, and has exhibited enormous therapeutic benefits for various liver diseases. Here, we review the recent advances in the understanding of liver regeneration in TCM system in the hope of facilitating the application of TCM for liver diseases via regulation of liver regeneration.

Assessment of hepatic microvascular flow and density in patients undergoing preoperative portal vein embolization

BACKGROUND

The microvascular effects occurring after unilateral preoperative portal vein embolization (PVE) are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to assess the microvascular changes in the embolized and the non-embolized lobes after right PVE.

METHODS

Videos of the hepatic microcirculation in patients undergoing right hemihepatectomy following PVE were recorded using a handheld vital microscope (Cytocam) based on incident dark field imaging. Hepatic microcirculation was measured in the embolized and the non-embolized lobes at laparotomy, 3-6 weeks after PVE. The following microcirculatory parameters were assessed: total vessel density (TVD), microcirculatory flow index (MFI), proportion of perfused vessel (PPV), perfused vessel density (PVD), sinusoidal diameter (SinD) and the absolute red blood cell velocity (RBCv).

RESULTS

16 patients after major liver resection were included, 8 with and 8 without preoperative PVE. Microvascular density parameters were higher in the non-embolized lobes when compared to the embolized lobes (TVD: 40.3 ± 8.9 vs. 26.8 ± 4.6 mm/mm² (p < 0.003), PVD: 40.3 ± 8.8 vs. 26.7 ± 4.7 mm/mm² (p < 0.002), SinD: 9.2 ± 1.7 vs. 6.3 ± 0.8 μm (p < 0.040)). RBCv, PPV and the MFI were not significantly different.

CONCLUSION

The non-embolized lobe has a significantly higher microvascular density, however without differences in microvascular flow. These findings indicate increased angiogenesis in the hypertrophic lobe.

Liver regeneration microenvironment in liver cancer: Research progress and prospect

The proposal of the new concept of liver regeneration microenvironment in liver cancer (LC) contributes to the overall understanding of how LC microenvironment influences the occurrence and development of LC through liver regeneration microenvironment, inflammatory microenvironment, immune microenvironment, and angiogenesis microenvironment, and helps explore more comprehensive and effective preventive and therapeutic measures for LC to improve the capability of LC prevention and cure. On the basis of eliminating hepatocellular carcinoma cells or tissues, the maintenance of normal liver regeneration and improvement of liver regeneration microenvironment in LC is an important strategy for LC prevention and treatment. Improving liver regeneration microenvironment to prevent or reverse the occurrence, development, and metastasis of LC should be an important research direction of LC prevention and treatment research. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine research and application have made some progress in improving liver regeneration microenvironment to prevent or reverse the occurrence, development, recurrence, and metastasis of LC. However, it remains to be solved on how to accurately reveal the comprehensive network mechanism and how to provide advanced evidence-based medical evidence, which needs further extensive research.

Liver regeneration microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma for prevention and therapy

Research on liver cancer prevention and treatment has mainly focused on the liver cancer cells themselves. Currently, liver cancers are no longer viewed as only collections of genetically altered cells but as aberrant organs with a plastic stroma, matrix, and vasculature. Improving the microenvironment of the liver to promote liver regeneration and repair by affecting immune function, inflammation and vasculature can regulate the dynamic imbalance between normal liver regeneration and repair and abnormal liver regeneration, thus improving the microenvironment of liver regeneration for the prevention and treatment of liver cancer. This review addresses the basic theory of the liver regeneration microenvironment, including the latest findings on immunity, inflammation and vasculature. Attention is given to the potential design of molecular targets in the microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In an effort to improve the liver regeneration microenvironment of HCC, researchers have extensively utilized the enhancement of immunity, anti-inflammation and the vasculature niche, which are discussed in detail in this review. In addition, the authors summarize the latest pro-fibrotic transition characteristics of the vascular niche and review potential cell therapies for liver disease.

中医药调控肝再生的研究进展及展望

中医药调控肝再生是防治肝病及其相关病证的重要策略, 已形成的研究热点方兴未艾. 近些年来取得的主要进展至少包括以下几个方面: 调控肝损伤与肝再生失衡提高了中医/中西医结合防治肝病及其相关病证的临床疗效, "髓"为中心治疗靶点的研究进展揭示了中医/中西医结合防治肝病及其相关病证的疗效机制, 整体动态微调早调的作用方式满足了肝再生调控复杂多变的需要, 解决了单靶点调控肝再生疗效有限的关键科学问题, 平衡协调的疗效考核与结局指标的综合判断为中医药调控肝再生的临床推广应用提供了途径和方法.

Microenvironment of liver regeneration in liver cancer

The occurrence and development of liver cancer are essentially the most serious outcomes of uncontrolled liver regeneration. The progression of liver cancer is inevitably related to the abnormal microenvironment of liver regeneration. The deterioration observed in the microenvironment of liver regeneration is a necessary condition for the occurrence, development and metastasis of cancer. Therefore, the use of a technique to prevent and treat liver cancer via changes in the microenvironment of liver regeneration is a novel strategy. This strategy would be an effective way to delay, prevent or even reverse cancer occurrence, development and metastasis through an improvement in the liver regeneration microenvironment along with the integrated regulation of multiple components, targets, levels, channels and time sequences. In addition, the treatment of "tonifying Shen (Kidney) to regulate liver regeneration and repair by affecting stem cells and their microenvironment" can regulate "the dynamic imbalance between the normal liver regeneration and the abnormal liver regeneration"; this would improve the microenvironment of liver regeneration, which is also a mechanism by which liver cancer may be prevented or treated.