Davis, M.D. [Chair], Guadalupe
Garcia-Tsao, M.D., Michael Kutner, Ph.D., Stanley M. Lemon, M.D., Robert P. Perrillo, M.D.). Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article. “
“Liver fibrosis results in a disproportion of the hepatic composition and architecture, characterized by a progressive accumulation of fibrillar proteins at the liver parenchyma. Modulated-differential scanning calorimetry (mDSC) is an experimental methodology able to determine the specific thermal signature from any biological substance, based on the variation in heat flow and heat capacity. As these physicochemical properties are directly influenced by compositional and structural changes, we decided to study GSI-IX cost the thermal behavior of the liver during fibrosis using mDSC. Liver fibrosis was induced in rats by bile duct ligation or carbon tetrachloride administration. Degree of liver fibrosis was determined www.selleckchem.com/products/Bafilomycin-A1.html by histological examination using the Masson-trichrome stain, accompanied by hepatic expression of α-smooth muscle actin. The thermal analysis was performed in a modulated-differential scanning calorimeter using 20 mg of fresh liver mass. The liver showed a characteristic thermal signature in control
animals, which progressively differed among mild (F1), moderate (F2) and advanced (F3–F4) liver fibrosis. For heat flow, the hepatic thermal signature from F3–F4 rats exhibited significant differences when compared with F1, F2 and controls. In terms of heat capacity, liver specimens RANTES provided a specific thermal signature for each stage of disease, characterized by a transition temperature onset at 95°C for controls, whereas
in F1, F2 and F3–F4 animals this temperature significantly decreased to 93°C, 84°C and 75°C, respectively. Because the liver shows a differential thermal signature according to the degree of fibrosis, mDSC could be a novel tool in the study of liver fibrosis progression. “
“The mechanism of pancreatitis development following endoscopic papillary balloon dilation (EPBD) remains unknown. Antegrade dilation with percutaneous transhepatic papillary balloon dilation (PTPBD) allows the removal of bile duct stones or fragments during percutaneous choledochoscopic lithotomy, with less mechanical trauma to the papilla than with EPBD-mediated stone removal. A total of 56 patients with bile duct stones underwent antegrade dilation with PTPBD from March 2006 to February 2011. A total of 208 patients with common bile duct stones underwent retrograde dilation with EPBD during the same period. The conditions of papillary balloon dilation were identical in both groups. The frequencies of pancreatitis and hyperamylasemia were compared in both groups. Pancreatitis occurred in 14 (6.7%) of 208 patients in the EPBD group (mild, nine; moderate, four; severe, one). There was no case of pancreatitis among 56 patients in the PTPBD group (P < 0.05).