Liver disease is a major cause of illness and death worldwide. In China alone, liver diseases, primarily viral hepatitis (predominantly hepatitis B virus [HBV]), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and alcoholic liver disease, affect approximately 300 million people. The establishment of the Expanded Program on Immunization in 1992 has resulted in a substantial decline in the number of newly HBV-infected patients; however, the number of patients with alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases is rising at an alarming rate. Liver cancer, one of the most deadly cancers, is the second-most common cancer in China. Approximately 383,000 people die from liver cancer every year in China, which accounts for 51% of the deaths from liver cancer worldwide. Over the past 10 years, China has made some significant efforts to shed its “leader in liver diseases” title by investing large amounts of money in funding research, vaccines, and drug development for liver diseases and by recruiting many Western-trained hepatologists and scientists. Over the last two decades, hepatologists and scientists in China have made significant improvements in liver disease prevention, diagnosis, management, and therapy. They have been very active in liver disease research, as shown by the dramatic increase in the number of publications in Hepatology. Nevertheless, many challenges remain that must be tackled collaboratively. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology and characteristics of liver diseases and liver-related research in China. (Hepatology 2014;60:2098–2107)
Newly approved direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) have increased rates of sustained virologic response (SVR) to unprecedented levels, curing more than 90% of infections in many subgroups without the need for interferon (1). However, individuals with genotype 1 infection remain more difficult to treat, and both clinical guidelines and Food and Drug Administration approvals call for continued use of interferon alongside direct-acting antivirals sofosbuvir or simeprevir fo...
Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) is the major enzyme that metabolizes acetaldehyde produced from alcohol metabolism. Approximately 40~50% of East Asians carry an inactive ALDH2 gene and exhibit acetaldehyde accumulation after alcohol consumption. However, the role of ALDH2 deficiency in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver injury remains obscure. In the present study, wild-type and ALDH2−/− mice were subjected to ethanol feeding and/or carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) treatment, and liver injury was a...
#1Man-Man Wang(SYSU: Sun Yat-sen University)H-Index: 2
#2Gong-Sui Wang(Southern Medical University)H-Index: 2
Last. Jian-Gao Fan(SJTU: Shanghai Jiao Tong University)H-Index: 50
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Background and Aims The interaction between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and hepatic steatosis remains unclear. We aimed to explore the trend of prevalence of hepatic steatosis and its relationship with virological factors in HBV infected patients.
Last. Hui Zhuang(PKU: Peking University)H-Index: 42
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Background and Aim Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is relatively frequent in China. This study investigated the clinical, demographic, and viral and host genetic characteristics that may influence disease manifestations and clinical management.
Objectives No extensive investigation has been performed and thus no representative data are available regarding acute liver failure (ALF) in China. This study aims to investigate the causes and outcomes of ALF in China and establish a prognostic model. Methods Patients diagnosed as ALF in seven hospitals in different areas of China from January 2007 to December 2012 were retrospectively selected. Results Of the 177 patients included in this study, 112 (63.28%) eventually died. The common causes...
#2Limin Wang(CCDC: Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention)H-Index: 22
Last. Guang Ning(SJTU: Shanghai Jiao Tong University)H-Index: 74
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Importance Noncommunicable chronic diseases have become the leading causes of mortality and disease burden worldwide. Objective To investigate the prevalence of diabetes and glycemic control in the Chinese adult population. Design, Setting, and Participants Using a complex, multistage, probability sampling design, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in a nationally representative sample of 98 658 Chinese adults in 2010. Main Outcomes and Measures Plasma glucose and hemoglobin A 1c levels were ...
#2Jidong Jia(Capital Medical University)H-Index: 38
A high rate of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in China is mainly caused by perinatal or early childhood transmission. Administration of universal HBV vaccination in infants has led to a dramatic decrease in HBV epidemiology, with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence declining from 9.75% in 1992 to 7.18% in 2006. The major HBV genotypes are B and C, with B being more prevalent in the southern part and C more prevalent in the northern part of China. A national survey carried o...
The prevalence of patients presenting with fatty liver disease (FLD) in China has approximately doubled over the past two decades. At present, FLD, which is typically diagnosed by imaging, is highly prevalent (∼27% urban population) in China and is mainly related to obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, the percentage of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) among patients with chronic liver diseases in clinic is increasing as well, and a synergetic effect exists between heavy alcohol drinking...
Last. Kevin D. Shield(U of T: University of Toronto)H-Index: 45
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Summary Liver diseases contribute markedly to the global burden of mortality and disease. This paper provides an overview from a global perspective of the contribution of alcohol to liver diseases. The Global Burden of Disease study methodology was used to estimate the burden of alcohol-attributable liver cirrhosis and alcohol-attributable liver cancer in 2010 as measured by deaths and disability adjusted life years (DALYs). This methodology estimates attributable fractions based on alcohol expo...
Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a unique clinical entity that causes confusion amongst clinicians because no clear definition or standardized clinical features have been agreed worldwide. A recent comprehensive study provided an evidence-based definition and addressed its clinical features in patients with ACLF who have cirrhosis with acute decompensation.
Last. Qin Pan(SJTU: Shanghai Jiao Tong University)H-Index: 17
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Abstract Introduction and objectives Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection exerts an impact on lipid metabolism, but its interaction with dysmetabolism-based non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains uncertain. Purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of HBV infection on lipid metabolism, hepatic steatosis and related impairments of NAFLD patients. Methods Biopsy-proven Chinese NAFLD patients with (NAFLD-HBV group, n = 21) or without chronic HBV infection (NAFLD group, n = ...
Background null Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is a global public health problem. After infection, patients experience a natural course from chronic hepatitis to cirrhosis and even Hepatitis B associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HBV-HCC). With the multi-omics research, many differentially expressed genes from chronic hepatitis to HCC stages have been discovered. All these provide important clues for new biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The purpose of this study is to explore the different...
Artemisinin and its derivatives belong to a family of drugs approved for the treatment of malaria with known clinical safety and efficacy. In addition to its anti-malarial effect, artemisinin displays anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects in vivo and in vitro. Recently, much attention has been paid to the therapeutic role of artemisinin in liver diseases. Several studies suggest that artemisinin and its derivatives can protect the liver through different mechanisms, such as thos...
#1Ruijun Wang(Peking Union Medical College)H-Index: 1
#2Kun Chen(Peking Union Medical College)H-Index: 6
Last. Chunfeng Qu(Peking Union Medical College)H-Index: 17
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Abstract null null Breakthrough infections of hepatitis B virus (HBV) after neonatal vaccination occurred in some adolescents and young adults who were born to mothers with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). We aimed to determine the impacts of prenatal HBsAg exposure on the generation of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and antibodies (anti-HBs) specific to HBsAg. To mimic human prenatal HBsAg exposure, we mated female Alb1-HBV (HBV-M) mice with male C57BL/6J mice. Of their first filial genera...
Last. Xiong-Wen Lv(Anhui Medical University)H-Index: 25
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CD39 is associated with diverse physiological and pathological processes, including cell proliferation and differentiation. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is hydrolysed to adenosine by different enzymes including ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase-1/ENTPD1 (CD39) and ecto-5'-nucleotidase (CD73), regulating many physiological and pathological processes in various diseases, but these changes and functions in alcoholic liver disease are generally unknown. In this study, an alcoholic live...
#1Qing Zhu(Peking Union Medical College)H-Index: 4
#2Yarui Ma(Peking Union Medical College)H-Index: 2
Last. Jianqiang Cai(Peking Union Medical College)H-Index: 17
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Aflatoxin exposure is a crucial factor in promoting the development of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in individuals infected with the hepatitis virus. However, the molecular pathways leading to its bioactivation and subsequent toxicity in hepatocytes have not been well-defined. Here, we carried out a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 genetic screen to identify aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) targets. Among the most significant hits was the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a ligand-binding transcription facto...
Last. Hideki Taniguchi(YCU: Yokohama City University)H-Index: 38
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of liver cancer. This study aims to develop a new method to generate an HCC mouse model with a human tumor, and imitates the tumor microenvironment (TME) of clinical patients. Here, we have generated functional, three-dimensional sheet-like human HCC organoids in vitro, using luciferase-expressing Huh7 cells, human iPSC-derived endothelial cells (iPSC-EC), and human iPSC-derived mesenchymal cells (iPSC-MC). The HCC organoid, capped by ultra-...
Functioning as a “powerhouse”, the liver adapts to the metabolic needs of the body by maintaining a homeostatic balance. Prolactin receptor (PRLR) has been found to have a copious existence in the liver. Having established a well-defined role in both reproductive and endocrine systems, the role of this transmembrane protein in hepatocytes is yet to be elucidated. Due to its abundant nature, we hypothesized that PRLR is required for maintaining hepatic homeostasis and plays a role in liver diseas...
Last. Liming Li(PKU: Peking University)H-Index: 38
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BACKGROUND Metabolic risk factors have been shown to be associated with severe liver disease (SLD) in Chinese populations. However, there is limited evidence on the combined impact of these factors, or the genetic variants associated with SLD. OBJECTIVES We examined the associations of combined metabolic risk factors with risks of SLD, both overall and by genetic predisposition to SLD. METHODS The study population involved 486,828 participants of the prospective China Kadoorie Biobank aged 30-79...