Project description:Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is strongly associated withan increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes. Total bile acid (TBA) levels in the late second or third trimester are a major factor in the diagnosis. Here, we sought to establish the miRNA expression profile of plasma exosomes of ICP and identify possible biomarkers for the diagnosis of ICP.
Project description:Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disease, which can lead to adverse fetal outcomes, including preterm labor and intrauterine death. The pathogenesis of ICP is still unclear. We hypothesized that pathological index leads to abnormal placenta changes in ICP. Investigation of these differences in protein expression in parallel profiling is essential to understand the comprehensive pathophysiological mechanism underlying intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy(ICP)
Project description:The occurrence of hepatic cholestasis during pregnancy is accompanied by the disorders of glucose and lipid metabolism, especially the acceleration of glycolysis. Here, we reported a novel mechanism that the glycolysis metabolic intermediate lactate-induced histone 4 at K12 (H4K12) hyperlactylation aggravates bile acid (BA) dysfunction in intrahepatic cholestasis during pregnancy by activating c-JUN and in turn facilitating RXRɑ cytoplasmic relocalization. Lactylome analysis in livers of late pregnant sows with high levels of BA revealed induction of H4K12 hyperlactylation. Target correction of aberrant histone lactylation prevented the hepatic BA disorders in both sows and mice models. Mechanistically, H4K12la was enriched in promoter regions of c-JUN and activated its expression Moreover, activated c-JUN facilitated the RXRɑ phosphorylation and cytoplasmic relocalization, which resulted in the activation of whole BA synthesis pathway and inhibition of BA transport pathway. Inhibitor of the glycolysis pathway and lactate inhibitor as nutritional intervention ameliorated BA metabolic disorder in pregnant sows and cholestasis in mice. Our findings demonstrate the catalytic role of lactate on hepatic BA disorders in late pregnancy, we also provided a novel pattern of nutritional intervention to precisely target and regulate bile acid metabolism, and may open the new direction of nutritional epigenetic regulation of metabolic diseases.
Project description:The liver is the central organ critically regulating the balance of the metabolically potent yet toxic bile acids in the body. While genomic association studies have pointed to hepatic Sel1L – a critical component of mammalian Hrd1 ER-associated degradation (ERAD) machinery – as an influencer of serum bile acid levels, physiological relevance and mechanistic insights of ERAD in bile homeostasis remain unexplored. Using hepatocyte-specific Sel1L-deficient mouse models, we report that hepatic Sel1L-Hrd1 ERAD critically manages bile homeostasis in the body. Mice with hepatocyte-specific Sel1L developed intrahepatic cholestasis, with significant overload of bile acids in the liver and circulation under basal condition, and were hypersensitive to dietary bile acid challenge. By contrast, biliary bile acid and phosphatidylcholine levels were reduced, pointing to an export defect from hepatocytes. Unbiased proteomics analysis followed by biochemical assays revealed significant accumulation of the bile-stabilizing phosphatidylcholine exporter ATP-binding cassette 4 (Abcb4) in the ER of Sel1L-deficient livers, a gene associated with Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis type III. Indeed, Abcb4 was a substrate of Sel1L-Hrd1 ERAD. Hence, hepatic Sel1L-Hrd1 ERAD maintains bile equilibrium via quality control of Abcb4 maturation in the ER.
Project description:<p><strong>OBJECTIVE:</strong> Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes to the mother and fetus. As yet, the metabolic profiles and the association of the clinical features remain obscure.</p><p><strong>METHODS:</strong> Fifty seven healthy pregnant women and 52 patients with ICP were recruited in this study. Plasma samples were obtained from pregnancies who received prenatal care between the 30-36 weeks. Untargeted metabolomics to portray metabolic profiles were performed by LC/MS. Mul- combined with univariate data analysis and statistical analysis were performed to select differential metabolites between ICP and control group. Debiased sparse partial correlation (DSPC) network analysis of differential metabolites was performed to explore the potential mutual regulation among metabolites on the basis of de-sparsified graphical lasso modeling procedure. Pathway analysis was performed using MetaboAnalyst. Linear regression and Pearson correlation analysis were applied to analyze correlations associated with bile acid levels, metabolites, newborn weight and pregnancy outcome in ICP patients.</p><p><strong>RESULTS:</strong> Conspicuous metabolic changes and choreographed metabolic profiles were disclosed: 125 annotated metabolites and eighteen metabolic pathways were disturbed in ICP patients. DSPC networks indicated dense interactions among amino acids and their derivatives, bile acids, carbohydrates and organic acids. The levels of total bile acid were increased in ICP patients with meconium-stained amniotic fluid compared with those without MSAF. Abnormal tryptophan metabolism, elevated long chain saturated fatty acid and estrone sulfate levels, and low antioxidant capacity were relevant to increasing bile acid levels. Correlation analysis showed that newborn body weights were significant correlated with the levels of several bile acids and some metabolites of amino acids.</p><p><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> The ICP patient showed metabolic disorder, and the levels of a number of metabolites were correlated with TBA levels and neonatal body weights. These results provide us important information to further understand the metabolic characteristics of patients with ICP and adverse pregnancy outcomes.</p>
Project description:We investigated bile-acid induced gene expression patterns in regulatory T-cells, and applied those gene sets to gene expression profiles of liver samples obtained from children with biliary atresia and intrahepatic cholestasis. Patient subgroups identified using the regulatory T-cell gene sets were then assessed for association with two-year outcome in patients with biliary atresia.