Chronic permanent hypoxemia predisposes to mild elevation of liver stiffness

Clinical characteristics and risk factors of patients with flupirtine-induced liver cirrhosis complicated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding

OBJECTIVE

To investigate clinical characteristics and risk factors of patients with Flupirtine-induced liver cirrhosis complicated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

METHODS

A total of 116 patients with liver cirrhosis admitted to our hospital from July 2018 to July 2019 were selected and divided into bleeding group (liver cirrhosis complicated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding, n = 71) and non-bleeding group (liver cirrhosis, n = 45). The clinical data of patients in the two groups were collected, including general data, liver function, urinalysis, coagulation function and imaging data. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were utilized to find the influencing factors of liver cirrhosis complicated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

RESULTS

Of the 116 patients, 45 patients had upper gastrointestinal bleeding, with an incidence rate of 38.79%, including 18 patients (40.00%) with rupture of esophageal varices, 9 (20.00%) with rupture of gastric varices, 9 (20.00%) of portal hypertensive gastropathy, 8 (17.78%) with peptic ulcer, 1 (2.22%) with acute erosive hemorrhagic gastritis; 14 (31.11%) experienced recurrent hemorrhage within 72 hours after treatment, but no death occurred. There were 45 cases (38.79%) in the bleeding group, and 71 (61.21%) in the non-bleeding group, and the differences in the course of liver cirrhosis, the degree of esophageal varices, peptic ulcer, portal hypertension, non-steroidal drug medication and TP between the bleeding group and non-bleeding group were significant (P < 0.05). Severe esophageal varices, liver cirrhosis, peptic ulcer, portal hypertension, non-steroidal drug medication, and TP ≥ 16 s were found to be risk factors of liver cirrhosis complicated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding by logistic regression analysis.

CONCLUSION

Clinically, it is necessary to take corresponding intervention measures to reduce the incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis and improve the prognosis of patients with liver cirrhosis.

Identification of APEX2 as an oncogene in liver cancer

BACKGROUND

DNA damage is one of the critical contributors to the occurrence and development of some cancers. APEX1 and APEX2 are the most important molecules in the DNA damage, and APEX1 has been identified as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). However, the expression of APEX2 and its functional mechanisms in LIHC are still unclear.

AIM

To examine the expression of APEX2 and the potential mechanism network in LIHC.

METHODS

We conducted a pan-cancer analysis of the expression of APEX1 and APEX2 using the interactive TIMER tool. GEO datasets, including GSE14520, GSE22058, and GSE64041, were used to compare the APEX2 expression level in tumor tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues. Then, we calculated the 5-year survival rate according to the web-based Kaplan-Meier analysis. We included the TCGA liver cancer database in GSEA analysis based on the high and low APEX2 expression, showing the potential mechanisms of APEX2 in LIHC. After that, we conducted Pearson correlation analysis using GEPIA2. Next, we performed quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay to examine the APEX2 levels in normal liver cell line LO2 and several liver cancer cell lines, including HepG2, Huh7, SMMC7721, and HCCLM3. APEX2 in HCCLM3 cells was knocked down using small interfering RNA. The role of APEX2 in cell viability was confirmed using CCK-8. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to examine the promoter activity of CCNB1 and MYC.

RESULTS

APEX1 and APEX2 are both highly expressed in the tumor tissues of BLCA, BRCA, CHOL, COAD, ESCA, HNSC, LIHC, LUAD, LUSC, READ, and STAD. APEX2 overexpression in LIHC was validated using GSE14520, GSE22058, and GSE64041 datasets. The survival analysis showed that LIHC patients with high expression of APEX2 had a lower overall survival rate, even in the AJCC T1 patients. High level of APEX2 could indicate a lower overall survival rate in patients with or without viral hepatitis. The GSEA analysis identified that kinetochore and spindle microtubules are the two main cellular components of APEX2 in GO Ontology. APEX2 was also positively associated with molecular function regulation of chromosome segregation and DNA replication. The results of KEGG analysis indicated that APEX2 expression was positively correlated with cell cycle pathway and pro-oncogenic MYC signaling. Pearson correlation analysis showed that APEX2 had a significant positive correlation with CCNB1 and MYC. APEX2 level was higher in liver cancer cell lines than in normal liver LO2 cells. Small interfering RNA could knock down the APEX2 expression in HCCLM3 cells. Knockdown of APEX2 resulted in a decrease in the viability of HCCLM3 cells as well as the expression and promoter activity of CCNB1 and MYC.

CONCLUSION

APEX2 is overexpressed in LIHC, and the higher APEX2 level is associated with a worse prognosis in overall survival. APEX2 is closely involved in the biological processes of chromosome segregation and DNA replication. APEX2 expression is positively correlated with the pro-oncogenic pathways. Knockdown of APEX2 could inhibit the cell viability and CCNB1 and MYC pathways, suggesting that APEX2 is an oncogene in LIHC, which could be a potential pharmaceutic target in the anti-tumor therapy.

Composite prognostic models across the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease spectrum: Clinical application in developing countries

Heterogeneity in clinical presentation, histological severity, prognosis and therapeutic outcomes characteristic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) necessitates the development of scientifically sound classification schemes to assist clinicians in stratifying patients into meaningful prognostic subgroups. The need for replacement of invasive liver biopsies as the standard method whereby NAFLD is diagnosed, graded and staged with biomarkers of histological severity injury led to the development of composite prognostic models as potentially viable surrogate alternatives. In the present article, we review existing scoring systems used to (1) confirm the presence of undiagnosed hepatosteatosis; (2) distinguish between simple steatosis and NASH; and (3) predict advanced hepatic fibrosis, with particular emphasis on the role of NAFLD as an independent cardio-metabolic risk factor. In addition, the incorporation of functional genomic markers and application of emerging imaging technologies are discussed as a means to improve the diagnostic accuracy and predictive performance of promising composite models found to be most appropriate for widespread clinical adoption.