With the improvement in quality of life and the level of prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis, as well as the availability of genetic testing, genetic liver disorders have been taken more and more seriously. Genetic liver disorders have various clinical manifestations, such as abnormalities in the liver and intrahepatic or extrahepatic blood vessels/bile ducts, and it can also involve other organs and systems in the human body. These are the myriad faces of genetic liver disorders. This article focuses on different manifestations of genetic liver disorders, in order to help physicians identify the etiology and pathogenic gene of liver disease.

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs) is a group of inherited metabolic diseases caused by abnormal glycosylation of protein or lipids, and the number of CDGs are increasing rapidly in recent years. With the advent and popularization of next-generation sequencing, more and more disorders associated with glycosylation-related gene mutations have been discovered. Synthesis of glycoproteins and glycolipids is one of the major roles of the liver, and many CDGs affect hepatobiliary structure or function and may lead to fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis, and ductal plate malformation. This article reports the latest advances in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of CDGs and related liver diseases.

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major world public health problem. Current guidelines for the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) have suggested clinical cure (also known as functional cure) as the ideal therapeutic goal, which is associated with decreased risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Clinical cure is defined as sustained, undetectable serum HBsAg, HBeAg and HBV DNA with or without seroconversion to anti-HBs, but with the persistence of residual cccDNA, accompanied by resolution of liver injury after the completion of a finite course of treatment. Accumulating data from a series of randomized controlled trials as well as clinical practice have confirmed certain clinical benefit of optimal sequential/combination strategies of direct acting antiviral drugs (DAA) [such as nucleoside analogues (NA) ]or immunomodulators [such as pegylated interferon alpha (PEG-IFN) ]for appropriately selected CHB patients. This consensus provides an updated and comprehensive analysis of the data supporting the use of combination therapies and summarizes the roadmap towards clinical cure of CHB to guide decision-making in clinical practice.

Objective To investigate the clinical effect and safety of sofosbuvir-based regimens in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) -associated glomerulonephritis (HCV-GN) . Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 5 patients with HCV-GN who were given sofosbuvir-based antiviral therapy in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from April2015 to October 2018, and their clinical outcome and safety were analyzed. The patients were evaluated in terms of sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after treatment ended (SVR12) , changes in liver/renal function and urinary protein during and after treatment, and safety.Results Five patients were enrolled, with an age of 27-81 years. There were 4 male patients, among whom 2 had liver cirrhosis. Of all patients, 4 had genotype 1 b and 1 had genotype 2 a. Renal biopsy was performed for 2 patients, who were diagnosed with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, respectively. Of all patients, 2 received sofosbuvir + ribavirin, 2 received ledipasvir/sofosbuvir, and 1 received sofosbuvir/velpatasvir for 12 or 24 weeks. All 5 patients achieved SVR12. There were significant reductions in alanine aminotransferase and 24-hour urinary protein excretion from baseline to the end of treatment and 12 weeks of follow-up, with a slight increase in serum albumin. Blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine were improved or showed no change. Only 1 patient experienced adverse gastrointestinal events associated with ribavirin. Conclusion Sofosbuvir-based regimens have good clinical effect and tolerability in patients with HCV-GN. Long-term follow-up should be performed to evaluate the long-term prognosis of renal disease after HCV clearance.

Objective To investigate the safety and efficacy of flow-reducing stent in the treatment of recurrent or persistent hepatic encephalopathy (HE) after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) . Methods A total of 11 patients who were diagnosed with recurrent or persistent HE after TIPS in The First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from January 2013 to August 2018 were enrolled. Objective scales were used to evaluate the patients with HE before and after the implantation of flow-reducing stent. Metal covered stents with the same type and an appropriate length were selected as the flow-reducing stents, and conventional portal venography and hepatic venous pressure gradient measurement were performed during and after surgery. The primary endpoint was the change in HE. The paired t-test was used to analyze the changes in related indices after surgery. Results All 11 patients underwent successful implantation of the flow-reducing stent. Within 1 week after implantation, 8 patients had disappearance of HE and 2 had HE reduced to grade 1, among whom 1 had no marked improvement in HE due to severe liver cirrhosis and liver failure. Of all patients, 2 used the 4-mm flow-reducing stent, 8 used the 5-mm flow-reducing stent, and 1 used the 6-mm flow-reducing stent, and there was a significant increase in hepatic venous pressure gradient after surgery [ (6. 09 ± 0. 70) mm Hg vs (15. 36 ± 2. 94) mm Hg, t = 2. 53, P = 0. 003 8]. There was a significant reduction in the time for digital coding test after surgery [ (269 ± 80) s vs (464 ± 90) s, t = 2. 94, P = 0. 001]. The patients had a significant improvement in albumin at 1 month after surgery (t = 1. 75, P = 0. 013) . The 2 patients receiving the 4-mm flow-reducing stent died of gastrointestinal bleeding at 6 and 12 months after surgery, respectively; among the 8 patients receiving the 5-mm flow-reducing stent, 2 experienced rebleeding at 3 months after surgery, 1 experienced massive ascites at 15 months after surgery, and 1 died of jaundice, intrac-table ascites, and liver failure at 2 years after surgery; the 1 patient receiving the 6-mm flow-reducing stent died of acute-on-chronic liver failure on day 25 after surgery. Conclusion Flow-reducing stent can effectively improve recurrent or persistent HE after TIPS and is safe and feasible; however, a small diameter of stent may lead to increased portal hypertension due to stent restenosis.

Objective To investigate the influence of dual positivity of HBsAg and anti-HBs on the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Methods PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and Wanfang Data were searched for articles on the influence of dual positivity of HBsAg and anti-HBs on the risk of HCC published from July 1, 1975 to March 27, 2019. RevMan5. 3 and Stata11. 2 were used for statistical analysis of data. A heterogeneity analysis was performed for the studies included; a random effects model was used in case of significant heterogeneity, and a fixed effects model was used in case of non-significant heterogeneity. Odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to investigate the association of dual positivity of HBsAg and anti-HBs with the development of HCC. Begg funnel plots were used to investigate publication bias. By removing one article each time, the sensitivity analysis was used to assess the quality and reliability of the Meta-analysis. Results A total of 4 articles were included, with 2 studies in the Korean population and 2 in the Chinese population, and there were 3042 patients in total. The meta-analysis showed that there was no significant association between dual positivity of HBsAg and anti-HBs and the development of HCC (OR = 1. 46, 95% CI: 0. 76-2. 80, P = 0. 25) . A country-based subgroup analysis showed significant association between dual positivity of HBsAg and anti-HBs and the development of HCC in the Korean population (OR = 2. 67, 95% CI: 1. 61-4. 43, P = 0. 000 1) , while no significant association was found in the Chinese population (OR = 0. 89, 95% CI: 0. 48-1. 64, P = 0. 70) . Conclusion There is no significant association between dual positivity of HBsAg and anti-HBs and the development of HCC, and further studies are needed in future.

Objective To investigate the changes in clinical indices and cytokines in peripheral blood after cryoablation or microwave ablation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and related clinical significance. Methods A total of 62 patients with HCC who were admitted to The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from June to December, 2018, were enrolled, and according to the treatment regimen, these patients were divided into cryoablation group with 30 patients and microwave ablation group with 32 patients. The two groups were compared in terms of routine blood test results [white blood cell count (WBC) , hemoglobin, and platelet count (PLT) ], liver function [alanine aminotransferase (ALT) , aspartate aminotransferase (AST) , total bilirubin (TBil) , and albumin], coagulation function (international normalized ratio) , and peripheral blood cytokines [interleukin-2, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 (IL-6) , interleukin-8, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) , and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) ]at 1 week before surgery and on day 2 after surgery. The chi-square test and the Fisher's exact test were used for comparison of categorical data between groups, and the t-test and the Mann-Whitney U test were used for comparison of continuous data between groups. Results Both groups had a significant increase in WBC and a significant reduction in PLT after surgery (cryoablation group: t =-7. 480 and-4. 280, both P < 0. 001; microwave ablation group:t =-5. 735 and-3. 075, both P < 0. 001) , and the cryoablation group had a significantly greater reduction in PLT than the microwave ablation group (Z =-4. 457, P <0. 001) . Both groups had significant increases in ALT, AST, and TBil after surgery (cryoablation group: Z =-4. 457, -4. 445, and-4. 229, all P < 0. 001; microwave ablation group: Z =-3. 617, -4. 703, and-4. 228, all P < 0. 001) , and the cryoab-lation group had significantly greater increases in ALT and AST than the microwave ablation group (Z =-3. 411 and-3. 829, both P <0. 001) . The cryoablation group had significant increases in IL-6, HGF, and VEGFA after surgery (Z =-4. 076, -4. 311, and-3. 123, all P < 0. 05) , with significantly greater increases than the microwave ablation group (Z =-2. 735, -2. 578, and-2. 201, all P <0. 05) . Conclusion Compared with microwave ablation, cryoablation can induce a higher level of acute inflammatory response within the short term after surgery, which may lead to higher rates of postoperative complications and tumor recurrence.

Objective To investigate the expression of TM6 SF2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue and its biological functions by data mining in tumor databases. Methods The GEPIA database was applied to measure the change in the mRNA expression level of TM6 SF2 in HCC tissue, and OncoLnc was used to analyze the association of TM6 SF2 expression with the survival time of HCC patients. The cBioPortal and LinkedOmics databases were used to analyze the genes associated with the expression of TM6 SF2 in HCC tissue, and the DAVID6. 8 and STRING databases were used to perform a bioinformatics analysis of TM6 SF2 and the genes associated with its expression. The t-test was used to investigate the difference in the mRNA expression of TM6 SF2 between HCC tissue and adjacent tissue. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlation of gene expression. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival percentage, and the log-rank test was used to analyze the difference in survival percentage. Results Compared with the normal liver tissue, the HCC tissue had low mRNA expression of TM6 SF2 (| log2 FC | cut-off = 0. 5, P < 0. 01) . Compared with those with high expression of TM6 SF2, the patients with low expression had a significant reduction in overall survival time (χ2= 9. 897, P < 0. 01) . Data analysis showed that a total of 49 genes were associated with the expression of TM6 SF2 in HCC tissue, and the gene ontology analysis showed that these genes were enriched in the biological processes and functions including fatty acid synthesis, fatty acid ligase activation, and thrombin regulation (P< 0. 05) . The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome pathway analysis showed that these genes were mainly involved in the signaling pathways of alanine metabolism, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling pathway, and bile secretion (P < 0. 05) . The protein-protein interaction network analysis showed that the genes of SERPINC1, NR1 I2, SERPINA10, and SLC10 A1 had marked or potential interaction with TM6 SF2 (P < 0. 01) . Conclusion Tumor data mining can quickly obtain the information on the expression of TM6 SF2 in HCC tissue and provide a bioinformatics basis for exploring the role of TM6 SF2 in the development and progression of HCC.

Objective To construct a protein interaction network based on high-throughput sequencing data of liver cancer-related non-coding RNAs, to perform a functional enrichment analysis, and to screen out circular RNAs (circRNAs) participating in the development and progression of liver cancer via the mechanism of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) . Methods The circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network was constructed using gene expression omnibus (GEO) data based on the ceRNA theory. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analyses were performed to identify circRNAs with potential ceRNA function and explore their functions. Results A total of 9 co-expressed circRNAs, 20 co-expressed miRNAs, and 153 co-expressed mRNAs were screened out from the GEO database, and the liver cancer-related circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network was successfully constructed. The GO analysis revealed 90 biological processes, which mainly involved 12 functional clusters including hepatocyte differentiation, phase-change regulation of cell cycle, and negative regulation of transcription factor activity. The KEGG analysis showed that the co-expressed circRNAs were also involved in the p53 and PI3 K-Akt signaling pathways. Conclusion This study provides new insights for circRNAs mediating the development and progression of liver cancer through the mechanism of ceRNA.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of the measurement of intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) , C-reactive protein (CRP) , and procalcitonin (PCT) in patients with acute pancreatitis in late pregnancy. Methods A total of 80 patients with acute pancreatitis in late pregnancy (≥28 gestational weeks) who were hospitalized in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery in The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanhua University from September 2008 to September 2018 were enrolled, and among these patients, 45 with mild or moderately severe acute pancreatitis were enrolled as control group, and 35 with severe acute pancreatitis were enrolled as observation group. Related clinical data were collected, including IAP, CRP, PCT, fetal distress, and neonatal Apgar score. The t-test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups, and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. A Pearson correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation of CRP, PCT, and IAP with the severity of pancreatitis and poor fetal outcomes (fetal distress and neonatal Apgar score at 1 minute after birth) . The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the optimal cut-off values of these indices for accurate diagnosis and corresponding sensitivity and specificity, in order to evaluate their value in predicting acute pancreatitis in late pregnancy. Results Compared with the control group, the observation group had significantly higher levels of CRP (185. 92 ± 23. 59 mg/L vs 120. 92 ± 20. 02 mg/L, t = 13. 318, P < 0. 001) , PCT (12. 93 ± 3. 16 ng/ml vs 5. 67 ± 1. 65 ng/ml, t = 12. 298, P < 0. 001) , and IAP (12. 67 ± 1. 40 mm Hg vs 5. 77 ± 1. 10 mm Hg, t =23. 858, P < 0. 001) . Compared with the observation group, the control group had a significantly lower incidence rate of fetal distress (6/45vs 15/35, χ2= 8. 864, P = 0. 003) and a significantly higher neonatal 1-minute Apgar score (8. 22 ± 0. 67 vs 5. 97 ± 0. 78, t =-13. 817, P < 0. 001) . The correlation analysis showed that IAP was positively correlated with CRP, PCT, and Ranson score for pancreatitis in late pregnancy (r = 0. 814, 0. 712, and 0. 788, all P < 0. 001) and was negatively correlated with neonatal 1-minute Apgar score (r =-0. 820, P < 0. 001) . CRP had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0. 838 at the optimal cut-off value of 158. 32 mg/L, with a sensitivity of77. 1% and a specificity of 93. 3%; PCT had an AUC of 0. 853 at the optimal cut-off value of 10. 23 ng/L, with a sensitivity of 71. 4%and a specificity of 97. 8%; IAP had an AUC of 0. 903 at the optimal cut-off value of 10. 09 mm Hg, with a sensitivity of 82. 9% and a specificity of 95. 6%. Conclusion The measurement of IAP, CRP, and PCT has a good value in the early prediction of severe acute pancreatitis in pregnancy and can help to determine the severity of pancreatitis in late pregnancy and decide the timing of termination of pregnancy.

Objective To evaluate the clinical effect of Silybum marianum preparation in the prophylactic treatment of antitubercular agent-induced liver injury (ATB-DILI) , since there have always been controversies over the development of Silybum marianum preparation for the prophylactic treatment of ATB-DILI. Methods MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on Silybum marianum preparation versus placebo in preventing ATB-DILI published up to November 30, 2018. STATA 12. 0 software was used for statistical analyses. Standardized mean difference (SMD) and risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to evaluate the effect of Silybum marianum preparation. The Cochrane handbook was used to assess the quality of RCTs, and funnel plots and Egger's tests were used to evaluate publication bias. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the influence of each RCT on overall effect. Results A total of five RCTs with 1198 patients were included, and among these patients, 585 received Silybum marianum preparation and 613 received placebo. Silybum marianum preparation significantly reduced the risk of the onset of ATB-DILI at week 4 (RR = 0. 33, 95% CI: 0. 15-0. 75, P = 0. 008) . In addition, Silybum marianum preparation had a protective effect on liver function in patients receiving antitubercular agents (alanine aminotransferase: SMD =-0. 15, 95% CI:-0. 24 to-0. 07, P < 0. 001; aspartate aminotransferase: SMD =-0. 14, 95% CI:-0. 23 to-0. 06, P = 0. 001; alkaline phosphatase: SMD =-0. 12, 95% CI:-0. 20 to-0. 03, P = 0. 008) . Silybum marianum preparation had a similar risk of adverse events as placebo (RR = 1. 09, 95%CI: 0. 86-1. 39, P = 0. 47) . Conclusion In patients with tuberculosis, prophylactic treatment with Silybum marianum preparation can significantly reduce the risk of the onset of ATB-DILI after 4 weeks of treatment. In addition, Silybum marianum preparation can also improve the liver function of patients treated with antitubercular agents.

Objective To investigate the correlation of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D[25 (OH) D]level with the severity of infantile cholestatic hepatopathy (ICH) . Methods A total of 121 infants with ICH who were admitted or referred to Liver Research Center in our hospital from July 2015 to December 2017 were enrolled, and according to the presence or absence of liver cirrhosis, these infants were divided into liver cirrhosis group with 26 infants and non-liver cirrhosis group with 95 infants. The two groups were compared in terms of age, sex ratio, 25 (OH) D, liver function parameters [total bilirubin (TBil) , direct bilirubin (DBil) , total protein (TP) , albumin (Alb) , alanine aminotransferase (ALT) , aspartate aminotransferase (AST) , gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) , alkaline phosphatase (ALP) , total bile acid (TBA) , and prothrombin time (PT) ], serological markers of liver fibrosis [procollagen Ⅲ peptide (PⅢNP) , laminin (LN) , hyaluronic acid (HA) , and type Ⅳ collagen (C-Ⅳ) ], and indices associated with vitamin D metabolism (Ca and P) . The independent samples t-test or the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups, and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the factors associated with the development of liver cirrhosis. Results Of all 121 infants, 107 (88. 43%) had vitamin D deficiency, and all 26 infants with liver cirrhosis had vitamin D deficiency. Compared with the non-liver cirrhosis group, the liver cirrhosis group had significant reductions in the serum levels of 25 (OH) D and Alb (Z = 3. 029, t = 2. 294, P < 0. 05) and significant increases in the levels of DBil, AST, GGT, HA, and C-Ⅳ (Z = 3. 032, 2. 026, 3. 439, 3. 143, and 2. 247, P < 0. 05) , while there were no significant differences in the other indices between the two groups (all P > 0. 05) . The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that 25 (OH) D (odds ratio [OR]= 0. 865, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0. 755-0. 922, P = 0. 038) , GGT (OR = 1. 002, 95% CI: 1. 000-1. 004, P = 0. 039) , and HA (OR = 1. 004, 95% CI: 1. 000-1. 008, P = 0. 034) were associated with liver cirrhosis in infants with ICH. Conclusion Serum 25 (OH) D has a certain clinical value in predicting the severity of hepatocyte damage and the development of early liver cirrhosis in infants with ICH.

Objective To investigate the dynamic changes in collagen parameters in mice with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by second harmonic generation (SHG) /two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF) , to establish the parameters for automatic quantitative evaluation of mice with NAFLD induced by methionine-and choline-deficient diet (MCD) , and to provide an experimental basis for the application of SHG/TPEF in clinical practice. Methods Liver tissue specimens of MCD mice were collected at weeks 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24, and HE staining, Masson staining, and sirius red (SR) staining were performed. Collagen proportionate area (CPA) and hydroxyproline (HYP) were calculated. SHG/TPEF was used to analyze 100 collagen parameters. With time points and fibrosis stage (S0-S4) as criteria, the SVM model was used to analyze the collagen parameters. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed for the collagen parameters, and these parameters were compared with CPA and HYP in terms of the area under the ROC curve (AUC) . Results In the MCD mice, HE and SR staining showed that over the time of modeling, hepatic steatosis was observed in hepatic lobules, with gradual aggravation of fibrosis. A total of 26 parameters were screened out based on their correlation with time point, and 27 parameters were screened out based on their correlation with liver fibrosis stage. The analysis based on the SVM model identified 7 shared parameters (#StrCV, #ShortStrCV, #ThickStrCV, #StrPTAgg, #StrPSAgg, #LongStrPSAgg, and StrLengthPSAgg) . These 7 parameters had anAUC of 0. 857-0. 923 (P < 0. 05) in predicting different stages of liver fibrosis and an AUC of 0. 823-0. 976 (P < 0. 05) in predicting liver fibrosis at different time points. These 7 parameters were compared with CPA and HYP in terms of their value in predicting liver fibrosis, and it was found that the 7 parameters had a similar AUC as CPA and HYP in predicting S0 fibrosis, while the 7 parameters had a significantly higher AUC than CPA and HYP in predicting S1-S4 fibrosis. The 7 parameters had a similar AUC as CPA and HYP at week 0 of modeling, while at week 4 of modeling, the 7 parameters had a significantly higher AUC than CPA and HYP. Conclusion Seven parameters associated with fibrosis stage and time point can accurately reflect the changes in liver fibrosis in different stages and at different time points in a model of MCD-induced NAFLD, and therefore, they can be used for specific and accurate monitoring of liver fibrosis in a quantitative manner in this model.

Objective To investigate the effect of MK886, a specific inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) , on alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in mice. Methods A total of 48 male Kunming mice were randomly divided into ALD group, ALD/MK886 group, control group, and normal group. The mice in the ALD group and the ALD/MK886 group were fed with Tipoe-Nanji alcohol liquid diet and were given alcohol by gavage 6 weeks later to establish a model of acute ALD. The mice in the control group were given control diet without alcohol, and those in the normal group were given normal diet. After 2 days of alcohol intake, the mice in the ALD/MK886 group were given intraperitoneally injected MK886 (0. 01 mg/10 g) once a day. The mice were sacrificed at 9 hours after the administration of alcohol by gavage. Serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) , alanine aminotransferase (ALT) , lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) , and triglyceride (TG) and the levels of TG and malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver tissue were measured. HE staining was performed for liver tissue and pathological score was determined. Western blot was used to measure the expression of FLAP and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) in liver tissue and Thp-1 cells, and flow cytometry was used to measure the apoptosis of Thp-1 cells. One-way ANOVA was used for comparison between groups; the least significant difference t-test was used for comparison of data with homogeneity of variance, and the Tamhane's T2 test was used for comparison of data with heterogeneity of variance. Results The ALD group and the ALD/MK886 group had a reduction in body weight within the first week of modeling, followed by a gradual increase; at the end of modeling, the ALD group had significantly lower bodyweight and liver index than the normal group and the control group (all P < 0. 05) , and the ALD/MK886 group had significantly higher body weight and liver index than the ALD group (both P < 0. 05) . Compared with the normal group and the control group, the ALD group had significant increases in the levels of AST, ALT, LDH, and TG in serum and the levels of TG and MDA in liver tissue (all P < 0. 05) , and compared with the ALD group, the ALD/MK886 group had significant reductions in the above indices (all P < 0. 05) . The ALD group had a significantly higher score of hepatic steatosis than the normal group and the control group (both P < 0. 05) , and compared with the ALD group, the ALD/MK886 group had a significant reduction in this score (P < 0. 05) . Compared with the normal group and the control group, the ALD group had significant increases in the expression of 5-LO and FLAP in the liver (all P < 0. 05) , and the ALD/MK886 group had significant reductions compared with the ALD group (P < 0. 05) . Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) upregulated the expression of FLAP and 5-LO in Thp-1 cells, and MK886 alleviated such effect of LPS (all P < 0. 05) ; MK886 promoted the apoptosis of Thp-1 cells, and LPS alleviated the effect of MK886 in promoting cell apoptosis (all P < 0. 01) . Conclusion MK886 can inhibit the expression of 5-LO, induce the apoptosis of Kupffer cells, and thus exert a therapeutic effect on ALD in mice.

Liver fibrosis is the result of the progressive development of various chronic liver diseases and can develop into liver cirrhosis and liver cancer with high mortality rates. Early diagnosis of liver fibrosis is of great significance for disease reversal. At present, liver biopsy is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis, but it cannot be used as a routine screening method due to its shortcomings.In recent years, progress has been made in various noninvasive imaging methods, and this article reviews the current status of the research on computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis.

At present, nonalcoholic fatty liver fibrosis is one of the highlights of the research on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) , and there is an urgent need for exploring its pathogenesis and treatment drugs in clinical practice. Animal model is an important tool for basic research, and the mouse model becomes the most widely used animal model of nonalcoholic fatty liver fibrosis because of susceptibility, low costs, and genomes highly homologous to those of the human being. This article reviews the methods for establishing a mouse model of nonalcoholic fatty liver fibrosis, including nutritional factor, gene knockout or mutation, and induction with various factors, as well as the features of these models, in order to provide a reference for the selection of model tools in the basic research on this disease.