A protective antiarrhythmic role of ursodeoxycholic acid in an in vitro rat model of the cholestatic fetal heart

Michele Miragoli, Siti H. Sheikh Abdul Kadir, Mary N. Sheppard, Nicoló Salvarani, Matilda Virta, Sarah Wells, Max J. Lab, Viacheslav O. Nikolaev, Alexey Moshkov, William M. Hague, Stephan Rohr, Catherine Williamson, Julia Gorelik – 1 August 2011 – Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy may be complicated by fetal arrhythmia, fetal hypoxia, preterm labor, and, in severe cases, intrauterine death. The precise etiology of fetal death is not known. However, taurocholate has been demonstrated to cause arrhythmia and abnormal calcium dynamics in cardiomyocytes.

Critical illness evokes elevated circulating bile acids related to altered hepatic transporter and nuclear receptor expression

Yoo‐Mee Vanwijngaerden, Joost Wauters, Lies Langouche, Sarah Vander Perre, Christopher Liddle, Sally Coulter, Sara Vanderborght, Tania Roskams, Alexander Wilmer, Greet Van den Berghe, Dieter Mesotten – 28 July 2011 – Hyperbilirubinemia is common during critical illness and is associated with adverse outcome. Whether hyperbilirubinemia reflects intensive care unit (ICU) cholestasis is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze hyperbilirubinemia in conjunction with serum bile acids (BAs) and the key steps in BA synthesis, transport, and regulation by nuclear receptors (NRs).

MicroRNA‐29b suppresses tumor angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis by regulating matrix metalloproteinase 2 expression

Jian‐Hong Fang, Hui‐Chao Zhou, Chunxian Zeng, Jine Yang, Yinglin Liu, Xiuzhi Huang, Jing‐Ping Zhang, Xin‐Yuan Guan, Shi‐Mei Zhuang – 25 July 2011 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly vascularized tumor with frequent intrahepatic metastasis. Active angiogenesis and metastasis are responsible for rapid recurrence and poor survival of HCC. We previously found that microRNA‐29b (miR‐29b) down‐regulation was significantly associated with poor recurrence‐free survival of HCC patients.

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