Recent genome-wide association studies have elucidated a spliced variant (rs72613567:TA) in 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 13 (HSD17B13) found to be associated with decreased risk of chronic liver disorders. The presence of this variant also correlates with delayed onset of autoimmune hepatitis in carriers.
From shift workers to flight attendants, disruptions in circadian rhythms are a risk factor for metabolic disorders. Several sessions held at the recent EASL meeting focused on that link, and how disturbances in the internal clock may increase the risk of hepatic disorders.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Lieber Institute Inc. have synthesized peripherally and luminally restricted inhibitors of the serotonin transporter (SERT) reported to be useful for disorders of gastrointestinal motility, including the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
One of the characteristics of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is T-cell exhaustion, which, in turn, is mediated by the PD-1/PD-L1 axis. Researchers at Oligo Therapeutics Inc. reported on ALG-072571, a potent siRNA PD-L1 inhibitor active against HBV infection mouse models.
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the most severe form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, where in addition to the accumulation of fat in the liver, there is also chronic inflammation and hepatocyte injury. With no therapy approved yet, selective thyroid hormone receptor-β (THR-β) agonism has yielded good results in ongoing clinical development.
Recent studies in chronic hepatitis B patients have shown that bepirovirsen, an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO), may be considered a suitable option for the treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.
Cyclophilins are a group of proteins involved in cell metabolism and homeostasis. One of the members, CypD, is located in mitochondria and plays an important role as a regulator of mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT) and necrotic cell death resulting in persistent mPT opening that, in turn, leads to hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI).
Current therapeutic options for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) are not effective for all patient subsets and, due to their lack of specificity, often provoke toxicity and off-target effects. CD8+ T cells are essential in the fight against viruses but in chronically HBV-infected patients, these cells become unproductive and difficult to detect. At the recent Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), Matteo Iannacone, professor of Pathology and Immunology from IRCCS San Raffaele in Milano, presented a novel interleukin 2 (IL-2)-based immunotherapy approach that used a modular cis-targeting platform to tackle HBV infection specifically in patients suffering from chronic viral infection.
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are chronic inflammatory liver diseases. It is known that one of the cell signaling molecules overexpressed in the liver during inflammation is IL-18, which is also a marker of hepatocyte injury and liver steatosis.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. presented early results for two candidates for short bowel syndrome (SBS) and hyperinsulinemia, two diseases with limited approved therapies, at the recent annual meeting of the Endocrine Society (ENDO 2023) in Chicago.
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