Vitamin D Receptor Polymorphisms Predispose to Primary Biliary Cirrhosis and Severity of the Disease in Polish Population

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver condition characterized by the immune-mediated damage of the intrahepatic bile ducts. Polymorphisms of vitamin D receptor (VDR) are considered to contribute to its pathogenesis however their incidence varies in different populations and their potential association with the course of the disease has not been studied. In this paper we investigated the incidence and correlation of three VDR polymorphisms (BsmI, ApaI or TaqI) with various clinical, biochemical, and serological factors in a homogenous group of 143 Caucasian patients with PBC. Control group comprises 306 DNA samples from umbilical cord blood of healthy newborn children. When compared to controls, we observed a significant dominance of the b allele in the BsmI (OR = 1.69 [1.27–2.24]; P = 0.0003) and t allele in the TaqI (OR = 0.62 [0.47–0.82], P = 0.0001) in patients with PBC. Moreover the BsmI and TaqI polymorphisms were associated with the presence of advanced fibrosis/liver cirrhosis at the diagnosis of PBC. Pairwise linkage disequilibrium (LD) calculations proved that the analyzed SNPs are within an LD block (100% of LDs were D'>0.9). Our study showed, for the first time, that the analyzed polymorphisms of VRD may exert an effect on a natural history of PBC

MTARC1 and HSD17B13 Variants Have Protective Effects on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery

The severity of hepatic steatosis is modulated by genetic variants, such as patatin-like phospholipase domain containing 3 (PNPLA3) rs738409, transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2) rs58542926, and membrane-bound O-acyltransferase domain containing 7 (MBOAT7) rs641738. Recently, mitochondrial amidoxime reducing component 1 (MTARC1) rs2642438 and hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 13 (HSD17B13) rs72613567 polymorphisms were shown to have protective effects on liver diseases. Here, we evaluate these variants in patients undergoing bariatric surgery. A total of 165 patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and intraoperative liver biopsies and 314 controls were prospectively recruited. Genotyping was performed using TaqMan assays. Overall, 70.3% of operated patients presented with hepatic steatosis. NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) was detected in 28.5% of patients; none had cirrhosis. The increment of liver fibrosis stage was associated with decreasing frequency of the MTARC1 minor allele (p = 0.03). In multivariate analysis MTARC1 was an independent protective factor against fibrosis ≥ 1b (OR = 0.52, p = 0.03) and ≥1c (OR = 0.51, p = 0.04). The PNPLA3 risk allele was associated with increased hepatic steatosis, fibrosis, and NASH (OR = 2.22, p = 0.04). The HSD17B13 polymorphism was protective against liver injury as reflected by lower AST (p = 0.04) and ALT (p = 0.03) activities. The TM6SF2 polymorphism was associated with increased ALT (p = 0.04). In conclusion, hepatic steatosis is common among patients scheduled for bariatric surgery, but the MTARC1 and HSD17B13 polymorphisms lower liver injury in these individuals

Rekomendacje Sekcji Hepatologicznej Polskiego Towarzystwa Gastroenterologii dotyczące cholestatycznych chorób wątroby — adaptacja wytycznych europejskich

Celem publikacji jest przybliżenie polskim lekarzom europejskich wytycznych dotyczących diagnostyki i leczenia chorób przebiegających z cholestazą. Wytyczne europejskie przedyskutowano na forum Sekcji Hepatologicznej Polskiego Towarzystwa Gastroenterologii pod kątem możliwości ich zastosowania w polskich realiach, a następnie poddano głosowaniu przez członków Sekcji. W opracowaniu przedstawiono ogólne zasady diagnostyki cholestazy oraz omówiono wytyczne rozpoznawania i leczenia najczęstszych chorób przebiegających z cholestazą — pierwotnej żółciowej marskości wątroby, pierwotnego stwardniającego zapalenia dróg żółciowych, zespołów nakładania, polekowych cholestatycznych uszkodzeń wątroby i zespołów cholestazy występujących u ciężarnych i dzieci. Omówiono również IgG4-zależne stwardniające zapalenie dróg żółciowych — niedawno poznaną i często sprawiającą trudności diagnostyczne jednostkę należącą do spektrum układowej choroby IgG4-zależnej. Po każdym rozdziale przedstawiono komentarz panelistów odnoszący się do rozbieżności w głosowaniu

DHEA Protects Human Cholangiocytes and Hepatocytes against Apoptosis and Oxidative Stress

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a rare chronic cholestatic and immune-mediated liver disease of unknown aetiology that targets intrahepatic bile duct cells (cholangiocytes) and primarily affects postmenopausal women, when their estrogen levels sharply decrease. An impaired cholangiocyte response to estrogen characterizes the terminal stage of the disease, as this is when an inefficiency of cholangiocyte proliferation, in balancing the loss of intrahepatic bile ducts, is observed. Here, we report that the estrogen precursor dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate metabolites, DHEA-S and 17 β-estradiol, enhance the proliferation of cholangiocytes and hepatocytes in vitro. Flow cytometry analysis showed that DHEA and DHEA-S decreased glyco-chenodeoxycholic acid (GCDC)-driven apoptosis in cholangiocytes. Cell viability assay (MTT) indicated that ER-α, -β, and the G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor, are involved in the protection of DHEA against oxidative stress in cholangiocytes. Finally, immunoblot analysis showed an elevated level of steroid sulfatase and a reduced level of sulfotransferase 1E1 enzymes, involved in the desulfation/sulfation process of estrogens in cirrhotic PBC, and primary sclerosis cholangitis (PSC) liver tissues, another type of chronic cholestatic and immune-mediated liver disease. Taken together, these results suggest that DHEA can prevent the deleterious effects of certain potentially toxic bile acids and reactive oxygen species, delaying the onset of liver disease

Serum natremia affects health-related quality of life in patients with liver cirrhosis: a prospective, single centre study

Introduction. Hyponatremia is associated with high mortality and predicts hepatic encephalopathy but its effect on health-related quality of life remains to be established.Material and methods. In this study we prospectively analyzed the relationship between hyponatremia, clinical features and quality of life in a cohort of 116 patients with cirrhosis. Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey were performed to assess quality of life. Evaluation of hepatic encephalopathy included West-Haven criteria, Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score and Critical Flicker Frequency analysis. Severity of liver disease was assessed with Child-Pugh score and MELD. Univariate and multivariate analysis were implemented to evaluate the influence of analyzed factors on quality of life.Results. Multivariate analysis has identified serum natremia, Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score, Critical Flicker Frequency and severity of liver disease measured with MELD and Child-Pugh score as independent factors affecting quality of life in patients with cirrhosis. West Heaven criteria failed to show the relationship with quality of life in analyzed subjects. Serum kalemia showed correlation with neither quality of life, hepatic encephalopathy nor severity of the disease.Conclusion. In patients with cirrhosis serum natremia along with severity of liver disease and hepatic encephalopathy exerts a significant effect on patients’ quality of life

Polymorphisms of IL12RB2 May Affect the Natural History of Primary Biliary Cholangitis: A Single Centre Study

Background. Recent GWAS in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) showed strong associations with SNPs located within interleukin-12 receptor (IL12R) beta-2 (IL12RB2) gene. Aims. We assessed whether genetic variation of IL12RB2 is associated with laboratory and clinical features of PBC. Methods. Genomic DNA was isolated from 306 patients with PBC and 258 age/gender-matched controls. PBC-specific anti-mitochondrial antibodies (AMA) were tested in all subjects by ELISA. Two SNPs, rs3790567 and rs6679356, of IL12RB2 were genotyped using the MGB-TaqMan SNP assay. Results. Despite comparable age at diagnosis of cirrhotic and noncirrhotic PBC patients, allele A of rs3790567 and allele C of rs6679356 were overrepresented in the former rather than the latter group (p=0.0009 and p=0.002, resp.). The risk of cirrhosis at presentation increased when allele A and allele C coexisted. AMA-M2 titres were significantly higher in AA homozygotes of rs3790567 compared to GG homozygotes (132±54 versus 103±62, p=0.02) and in rs6679356 when C allele was present (p=0.038). There were no other significant associations between IL12RB2 polymorphisms and laboratory or clinical features. Conclusion. In this first study analyzing phenotypic features of PBC carriers of the IL12RB2 polymorphisms, we found that carriers are more frequently cirrhotic at diagnosis and have significantly higher titres of AMA

PNPLA3 p.I148M and TM6SF2 p.E167K variants do not predispose to liver injury in cholestatic liver diseases: A prospective analysis of 178 patients with PSC.

BACKGROUND:The adiponutrin (PNPLA3) p.I148M and transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2) p.E167K variants represent major genetic risk factors for progressive liver injury in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and chronic viral hepatitis. The aim of this study was to find out whether these variants have a detrimental impact on the progression of chronic liver disease in patients with prolonged cholestasis induced by primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). METHODS:We prospectively recruited 178 PSC patients (112 male, age range 17-75 years, 55 with liver cirrhosis, 94 with ulcerative colitis, 48 transplanted during follow-up). PNPLA3 rs738409 and TM6SF2 rs58542926 polymorphisms were genotyped using dedicated TaqMan assays. Associations between genotypes, biochemical and clinical phenotypes were analyzed using contingency tables. RESULTS:Allele and genotype distribution of both variants were consistent with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. No significant differences in the genotype distribution of PNPLA3 (P = 0.90) or TM6SF2 (P = 0.72) were observed between patients with cirrhosis and patients without cirrhosis. Serum liver enzyme activities were not modified by the presence of PNPLA3 (ALT P = 0.88, AST P = 0.77) or TM6SF2 (ALT P = 0.92, AST P = 0.49) risk variants. Increasing number of risk alleles had no impact on serum liver enzyme activities, as demonstrated by a separate analysis of patients carrying 0 (n = 99), 1 (n = 64), 2 (n = 12) or 3 (n = 3) risk alleles (P>0.05). No impact of PNPLA3 or TM6SF2 risk variants was detectable in patients with PSC and ulcerative colitis, and none of the variants increased the odds of transplantation. CONCLUSIONS:Neither PNPLA3 nor TM6SF2 polymorphisms seem to contribute significantly towards an increased risk for deterioration of liver function in patients with PSC. These results underscore the divergent mechanisms of liver damage in cholestatic conditions as compared to metabolic and viral liver diseases

Effect of Low Testosterone Levels on the Expression of Proliferator-Activated Receptor Alpha in Female Patients with Primary Biliary Cholangitis

Sex-dependent patterns in chronic immune-mediated cholangiopathies, like primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), remain poorly understood. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-α), expressed in immune cells, plays a key role in innate defence. In this study, the relationship between PPAR-α expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), serum androgen levels, IFNγ production, and sex-dependent tendencies during the development of PBC and PSC was investigated. We confirmed that normal cholangiocytes respond to PPAR-α and inhibit the lipopolysaccharide-induced expression of IL-6, IL-1b, and TNFα. Compared with PSC patients, PPAR-α was downregulated, while IFNγ was upregulated, in the PBMCs of PBC patients. When the analysis was conducted on females only, there was no difference in PPAR-α, but IFNγ was elevated in females with PBC compared with those with PSC. Serum testosterone concentrations in females with PBC were below the normal range (regardless of age) and correlated positively with PPAR-α and negatively with IFNγ. While PPAR-α has been reported to be a target of miR-155 and miR-21, no correlations with these microRNAs were observed in the PBMCs. However, a positive correlation between miR-21 and IFNγ was observed. Our results showed suppressed PPAR-α expression accompanied by reduced testosterone levels in women with PBC, which should elicit interest in the role of testosterone in PBC development

Nutritional Strategies for the Individualized Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Based on the Nutrient-Induced Insulin Output Ratio (NIOR)

Nutrients play a fundamental role as regulators of the activity of enzymes involved in liver metabolism. In the general population, the action of nutrients may be affected by gene polymorphisms. Therefore, individualization of a diet for individuals with fatty liver seems to be a fundamental step in nutritional strategies. In this study, we tested the nutrient-induced insulin output ratio (NIOR), which is used to identify the correlation between the variants of genes and insulin resistance. We enrolled 171 patients, Caucasian men (n = 104) and women (n = 67), diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). From the pool of genes sensitive to nutrient content, we selected genes characterized by a strong response to the NIOR. The polymorphisms included Adrenergic receptor (b3AR), Tumor necrosis factor (TNFα), Apolipoprotein C (Apo C III). Uncoupling Protein type I (UCP-1), Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ2 (PPAR-2) and Apolipoprotein E (APOEs). We performed three dietary interventions: a diet consistent with the results of genotyping (NIOR (+)); typical dietary recommendations for NAFLD (Cust (+)), and a diet opposite to the genotyping results (NIOR (−) and Cust (−)). We administered the diet for six months. The most beneficial changes were observed among fat-sensitive patients who were treated with the NIOR (+) diet. These changes included improvements in body mass and insulin sensitivity and normalization of blood lipids. In people sensitive to fat, the NIOR seems to be a useful tool for determining specific strategies for the treatment of NAFLD