Hepatocyte injury during cholestasis depends in part on the release of proinflammatory mediators that cause neutrophils to accumulate in the liver and become activated to damage hepatocytes. The mechanism by which cholestasis stimulates production of proinflammatory mediators in the liver is not completely understood. The studies presented here tested the hypothesis that the transcription facto...

Gut microbiota mediated low-grade inflammation is involved in the onset of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). In this study, we used a high fat sucrose (HFS) diet-induced pre-insulin resistance and a low dose-STZ HFS rat models to study the effect and mechanism of Lactobacillus casei Zhang in protecting against T2DM onset. Hyperglycemia was favorably suppressed by L. casei Zhang treatment. Moreover, the h...

OBJECTIVE Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a major cause of mortality in children under 5 years and is associated with hepatic steatosis. Bile acids are synthesized in the liver and participate in dietary fat digestion, regulation of energy expenditure, and immune responses. The aim of this work was to investigate whether SAM is associated with clinically relevant changes in bile acid homeost...

Tuberculosis (TB) of the hepatobiliary system is uncommon and it is a rare cause of bile duct stenosis. The symptoms are nonspecific, the most important of which is jaundice. Hepatobiliary TB is difficult to differentiate from other entities such as cholangiocarcinoma, and many cases require surgery, histology and bacteriological confirmation to reach a definitive diagnosis. Treatment does not ...

Despite aggressive antimicrobial therapy, many respiratory pathogens persist in the lung, underpinning the chronic inflammation and eventual lung decline that are characteristic of respiratory disease. Recently, bile acid aspiration has emerged as a major comorbidity associated with a range of lung diseases, shaping the lung microbiome and promoting colonisation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Cys...

Bile acids are amphipathic molecules synthesized from cholesterol in the liver. Bile acid synthesis is a major pathway for hepatic cholesterol catabolism. Bile acid synthesis generates bile flow which is important for biliary secretion of free cholesterol, endogenous metabolites, and xenobiotics. Bile acids are biological detergents that facilitate intestinal absorption of lipids and fat-solubl...

BACKGROUND Jaundice and cholestatic hepatic dysfunction are frequent findings in critically ill patients associated with increased mortality. Cholestasis in critically ill patients is closely associated with stimulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines resulting in impaired bile secretion and subsequent accumulation of bile acids. Aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical role of circulating ...

1-Naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT) has been used for many years to study cholangiolitic hepatotoxicity in laboratory animals. Hallmarks of ANIT hepatotoxicity include portal edema and inflammation with bile duct epithelial and hepatic parenchymal cell necrosis. In rats, ANIT hepatotoxicity is dependent upon hepatic glutathione. Studies in vitro have demonstrated that ANIT combines reversibly with ...

Gallbladder stasis is associated to experimental acute cholecystitis. Impaired contractility could be, at least in part, the result of inflammation-induced alterations in the neuromuscular function. This study was designed to determine the changes in gallbladder neurotransmission evoked by acute inflammation and to evaluate the protective and therapeutic effects of melatonin. Experimental acute...

AIM To analyze time intervals of inflammation and regeneration in a cholestatic rat liver model. METHODS In 36 Lewis rats, divided into six groups of 6 animals (postoperative observation periods: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 wk), the main bile duct was ligated with two ligatures and observed for the periods mentioned above. For laboratory evaluation, cholestasis parameters (bilirubin, γ-GT), liver cell p...