Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
8.1
4.9
Journals
IJMS
Special Issues
Advances in Molecular Biomarkers in Liver Diseases
ijms-logo
Submit to IJMS Review for IJMS Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Advances in Molecular Biomarkers in Liver Diseases

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2025) | Viewed by 4867

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Toshiaki Nakano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan
2. Liver Transplantation Center, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memotial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Interests: transplant immunology; liver biology; biomarker discovery; photobiomodulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Liver transplantation is widely accepted as an effective therapeutic modality for end-stage liver diseases. The results of liver transplantation have improved due to the improvement of perioperative techniques and the introduction of immunosuppressive drugs. However, post-transplant complications are common in the early and long-term period and contribute to significant morbidity and mortality. Therefore, how we precisely predict/diagnose post-transplant complications such as early allograft dysfunction, biliary complications, infection, acute and chronic rejection, and disease recurrence (fatty liver/NASH, hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma) is a quite important issue for achieving the road to tolerance in liver transplantation. The scope of the Special Issue is to summarize potential biomarkers for prediction and diagnosis of post-transplant complications both in experimental and clinical liver transplantation, and we discuss the future perspectives for tolerance induction in liver transplantation. Original articles and comprehensive reviews in the topic that focus on molecular research are warmly welcomed.

Topics include but are not limited to:

  • Omics for biomarker discovery in liver transplantation;
  • Current and future diagnostic tools in liver transplantation;
  • Molecular mechanisms of rejection and tolerance in liver transplantation;
  • Molecular mechanisms of disease recurrence after liver transplantation;
  • Strategies for prevention of post-transplant complications in liver transplantation;
  • Strategies for tolerance induction in liver transplantation.

The Special Issue is supervised by Dr. Toshiaki Nakano and assisted by our Topical Advisory Panel Member Dr. Eleni Myrto Trifylli (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece).

Dr. Toshiaki Nakano
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • acute rejection
  • animal models
  • biliary complications
  • chronic rejection
  • cirrhosis
  • fatty liver
  • fibrosis
  • hepatitis
  • hepatocellular carcinoma
  • jaundice
  • NASH
  • omics
  • tolerance
 

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

17 pages, 2272 KiB  
Article
ACC-1 as a Possible Biochemical Indicator of Lipoapoptosis in In Vivo and In Vitro Models of MAFLD
by David Ibarra Martínez, Israel Alejandro Muñoz Nieto, David Alejandro Hernández Marín, Javier Ventura Juárez, Sandra Luz Martínez Hernández, Esperanza Sánchez Alemán, Raquel Guerrero Alba and Martín Muñoz Ortega
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(8), 3459; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26083459 - 8 Apr 2025
Viewed by 318
Abstract
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging condition with a worldwide prevalence ranging from 6% to 35% and is very frequent among patients with obesity, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome. One of the main challenges in the treatment of this disease is the [...] Read more.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging condition with a worldwide prevalence ranging from 6% to 35% and is very frequent among patients with obesity, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome. One of the main challenges in the treatment of this disease is the identification of a reliable and direct biomarker to diagnose the stage of hepatic steatosis before it progresses to steatohepatitis. This is especially important as many patients remain asymptomatic until cirrhosis develops. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of the enzyme acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC-1) in vitro in a model of lipocytotoxicity using HepG2 cells as well as in vivo in Wistar rats. Our results demonstrate an accumulation of lipid inclusions in hepatocytes observed both in vitro and in experimental models of hepatic steatosis, leading to membrane damage. This allows for the detection of ACC-1 enzyme in the extracellular medium at short induction times, in contrast to the appearance of AST and ALT, which become detectable only once the damage becomes more invasive. ACC-1 could potentially serve as a clinical indicator to detect fatty liver disease before it progresses to steatohepatitis and fibrosis, allowing for timely and non-invasive treatment for patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Molecular Biomarkers in Liver Diseases)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1625 KiB  
Article
T-Cell Dynamics Predicts Prognosis of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Receiving Atezolizumab Plus Bevacizumab
by Hye Won Lee, Suebin Park, Hye Jung Park, Kyung Joo Cho, Do Young Kim, Byungjin Hwang and Jun Yong Park
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(20), 10958; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252010958 - 11 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1568
Abstract
Atezolizumab and bevacizumab show promise for treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but identifying responsive patients remains challenging, due to tumor heterogeneity. This study explores immune dynamics following this combination therapy. Between 2020 and 2023, 29 patients with advanced HCC who received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab [...] Read more.
Atezolizumab and bevacizumab show promise for treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but identifying responsive patients remains challenging, due to tumor heterogeneity. This study explores immune dynamics following this combination therapy. Between 2020 and 2023, 29 patients with advanced HCC who received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab at Severance Hospital, Seoul, were enrolled in this study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were analyzed using flow cytometry and statistical methods to assess immune alterations and identify biomarkers. Baseline characteristics showed a diverse HCC cohort with a mean age of 64 years and 82.8% male predominance. Absence of extrahepatic metastasis was associated with better overall survival. Immune responses revealed distinct CD4+ T-cell phenotypes between the ‘partial response (PR) + stable disease (SD)’ and ‘progressive disease (PD)’ groups, with an overall increase in CD8+ T-cell phenotypes. Patients with higher frequencies of CD8+PD-1+Ki-67+ T cells experienced significantly improved overall survival, while those with lower frequencies of CD4+Foxp3+PD-1+LAG3+ T cells also had notable survival benefits. These findings enhance the overall understanding of immune responses to this combination therapy, facilitating improved patient stratification and personalized therapeutic approaches for HCC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Molecular Biomarkers in Liver Diseases)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

12 pages, 1449 KiB  
Article
Overexpression of miR-4669 Enhances Tumor Aggressiveness and Generates an Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Its Clinical Value as a Predictive Biomarker
by Toshiaki Nakano, Chao-Long Chen, I-Hsuan Chen, Hui-Peng Tseng, Kuei-Chen Chiang, Chia-Yun Lai, Li-Wen Hsu, Shigeru Goto, Chih-Che Lin and Yu-Fan Cheng
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(9), 7908; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24097908 - 26 Apr 2023
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2322
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests the involvement of tumor-derived exosomes in the development and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We previously identified miR-4669 as a highly expressed microRNA in circulating exosomes obtained from patients with post-transplant HCC recurrence. This study aimed to explore how overexpression [...] Read more.
Accumulating evidence suggests the involvement of tumor-derived exosomes in the development and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We previously identified miR-4669 as a highly expressed microRNA in circulating exosomes obtained from patients with post-transplant HCC recurrence. This study aimed to explore how overexpression of miR-4669 affects HCC development and recurrence. The impact of miR-4669 overexpression in Hep3B cells on tumor cell behavior and the tumor microenvironment was evaluated in vitro. In addition, the clinical value of exosomal miR-4669 for the prediction of treatment response to HCC downstaging therapies and following post-transplant HCC recurrence was explored. Overexpression of miR-4669 enhanced migration ability and led to acquired sorafenib resistance with an elevation of sirtuin 1 and long noncoding RNA associated with microvascular invasion. Active release of tumor-derived exosomes and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) contributed to generating an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment through the induction of M2 macrophage polarization. The retrospective analysis demonstrated the clinical value of exosomal miR-4669 for predicting treatment response to HCC downstaging therapies and for risk assessment of post-transplant HCC recurrence. In summary, the present data demonstrate the impact of exosomal miR-4669 on HCC recurrence through the enhancement of tumor aggressiveness and generation of an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Molecular Biomarkers in Liver Diseases)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop