by Keyword: Steatosis
Torres, S., Abdullah, Z., Brol, M. J., Hellerbrand, C., Fernandez, M., Fiorotto, R., Klein, S., Königshofer, P., Liedtke, C., Lotersztajn, S., Nevzorova, Y. A., Schierwagen, R., Reiberger, T., Uschner, F. E., Tacke, F., Weiskirchen, R., Trebicka, J., (2020). Recent advances in practical methods for liver cell biology: A short overview International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21, (6), 2027 
Molecular and cellular research modalities for the study of liver pathologies have been tremendously improved over the recent decades. Advanced technologies offer novel opportunities to establish cell isolation techniques with excellent purity, paving the path for 2D and 3D microscopy and high-throughput assays (e.g., bulk or single-cell RNA sequencing). The use of stem cell and organoid research will help to decipher the pathophysiology of liver diseases and the interaction between various parenchymal and non-parenchymal liver cells. Furthermore, sophisticated animal models of liver disease allow for the in vivo assessment of fibrogenesis, portal hypertension and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and for the preclinical testing of therapeutic strategies. The purpose of this review is to portray in detail novel in vitro and in vivo methods for the study of liver cell biology that had been presented at the workshop of the 8th meeting of the European Club for Liver Cell Biology (ECLCB-8) in October of 2018 in Bonn, Germany.
JTD Keywords: Fibrogenesis, Hepatic stellate cells, Hepatocellular cancer, In vitro models, Steatosis
Praktiknjo, M., Djayadi, N., Mohr, R., Schierwagen, R., Bischoff, J., Dold, L., Pohlmann, A., Schwarze-Zander, C., Wasmuth, J. C., Boesecke, C., Rockstroh, J. K., Trebicka, J., (2019). Fibroblast growth factor 21 is independently associated with severe hepatic steatosis in non-obese HIV-infected patients Liver International 39, (8), 1514-1520
Background: Severe hepatic steatosis shows a high prevalence and contributes to morbidity and mortality in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients. Known risk factors include obesity, dyslipidaemia and features of metabolic syndrome. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) is involved with hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism. This study aimed to evaluate FGF-21 as a biomarker for severe hepatic steatosis in non-obese HIV-infected patients.
Methods: This is a prospective, cross-sectional, monocentric study including HIV-infected out-patients. Hepatic steatosis was measured via controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) using FibroScan 502 touch (ECHOSENS, France). Severe hepatic steatosis was defined at CAP ≥ 253 dB/m. Peripheral blood samples were collected and plasma was analysed for FGF-21. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected from patient's health records.
Results: In total, 73 non-obese HIV-monoinfected patients were included in this study. Prevalence of severe hepatic steatosis was 41%. Patients with severe hepatic steatosis showed significantly higher levels of FGF-21. Univariate analysis revealed FGF-21, BMI, hyperlipidaemia, ALT levels and arterial hypertension as significant, while multivariate analysis showed only FGF-21, arterial hypertension and ALT levels as significant independent risk factors for severe hepatic steatosis.
Conclusion: This study presents FGF-21 as an independent and stronger predictor of severe hepatic steatosis than blood lipids in HIV-infected patients. Moreover, arterial hypertension and ALT levels predict severe steatosis even in non-obese HIV-monoinfected patients. Furthermore, this study supports existing metabolic risk factors and expands them to non-obese HIV-infected patients.
JTD Keywords: BMI, CAP, Dyslipidaemia, FGF-21, Fibroscan, HIV, Hyperlipidaemia, Liver, NAFLD, NASH, Steatosis
