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Poudel S, Gupta S, Saigal S. Basics and Art of Immunosuppression in Liver Transplantation. J Clin Exp Hepatol 2024; 14:101345. [PMID: 38450290 PMCID: PMC10912712 DOI: 10.1016/j.jceh.2024.101345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Liver transplantation is one of the most challenging areas in the medical field. Despite that, it has already been established as a standard treatment option, especially in decompensated cirrhosis and selected cases of hepatocellular carcinoma and acute liver failure. Complications due to graft rejection, including mortality and morbidity, have greatly improved over time due to better immunosuppressive agents and management protocols. Currently, immunosuppression in liver transplant patients makes use of the best possible combinations of effective agents to achieve optimal immunosuppression for long-term graft survival. Induction agents are no longer used routinely, and the aim is to provide minimal immunosuppression in the maintenance phase. Currently available immunosuppressive agents are mainly classified as biological and pharmacological agents. Though the protocols may vary among the centers and over time, the basics of effective use usually remain similar. Most protocols use the combination of multiple agents with different mechanisms of action to reduce the dose and minimize the side effects. Along with the improvement in operative and perioperative techniques, this art of immunosuppression has contributed to the recent progress made in the outcomes of liver transplants. In this review, we will discuss the various types of immunosuppressive agents currently in use, the different protocols of immunosuppression used, and the art of optimal use for achieving maximum immunosuppression without increasing toxicity. We will also discuss the practical aspects of various immunosuppression regimens, including drug monitoring, and briefly discuss the concepts of immunosuppression minimization and withdrawal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shekhar Poudel
- Fellow Transplant Hepatology, Centre for Liver and Biliary Sciences, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Saket, New Delhi, India
| | - Subhash Gupta
- Liver Transplant and Gastrointestinal Surgery, Centre for Liver and Biliary Sciences, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, New Delhi, India
| | - Sanjiv Saigal
- Principal Director and Head, Transplant Hepatology, Centre for Liver and Biliary Sciences, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Saket, New Delhi, India
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Han JW, Choi JY, Jung ES, Kim JH, Cho HS, Yoo JS, Sung PS, Jang JW, Yoon SK, Choi HJ, You YK. Association between the early high level of serum tacrolimus and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma in ABO-incompatible liver transplantation. World J Gastrointest Surg 2023; 15:2727-2738. [PMID: 38222009 PMCID: PMC10784835 DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v15.i12.2727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Clinical factors predicting graft survival (GS) after ABO-incompatible (ABOi) liver transplantation (LT), and differences between recipients with and without hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are unclear. AIM To analyze the impact of serial serum tacrolimus trough concentration in recipients with or without HCC) in ABOi living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT). METHODS We analyzed a historical cohort of 89 recipients who underwent ABOi LDLT, including 47 patients with HCC. RESULTS The 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year GS rates were 85.9%, 73.3%, 71.4%, and 71.4%, respectively, and there were no significant differences between HCC and non-HCC recipients. In multivariate Cox-regression analyses, tacrolimus trough concentrations below 5.4 ng/mL at 24 wk post-LT, in addition to the antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) were associated with poor-graft outcomes. In HCC patients, AMR [hazard ratio (HR) = 63.20, P < 0.01] and HCC recurrence (HR = 20.72, P = 0.01) were significantly associated with poor graft outcomes. HCCs outside Milan criteria, and tacrolimus concentrations at 4 wk post-LT > 7.3 ng/mL were significant predictive factors for HCC recurrence. After propensity score matching, patients with high tacrolimus concentrations at 4 wk had significantly poor recurrence-free survival. CONCLUSION Elevated tacrolimus levels at 4 wk after ABOi LDLT have been found to correlate with HCC recurrence. Therefore, careful monitoring and control of tacrolimus levels are imperative in ABOi LT recipients with HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Won Han
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
- The Catholic University Liver Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
| | - Jong Young Choi
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
- The Catholic University Liver Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
| | - Eun Sun Jung
- Department of Hospital Pathology, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
| | - Ji Hoon Kim
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
- The Catholic University Liver Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
| | - Hee Sun Cho
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
- The Catholic University Liver Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
| | - Jae-Sung Yoo
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
- The Catholic University Liver Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
| | - Pil Soo Sung
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
- The Catholic University Liver Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
| | - Jeong Won Jang
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
- The Catholic University Liver Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
| | - Seung Kew Yoon
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
- The Catholic University Liver Research Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
| | - Ho Joong Choi
- Department of Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
| | - Young Kyoung You
- Department of Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South Korea
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Chen W, Bai Z, Bai W, Wang W, Guo J, Guo M, Sai Y, Shi J, Wu J. LncTUG1 contributes to the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma via the miR-144-3p/RRAGD axis and mTOR/S6K pathway. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7500. [PMID: 37160972 PMCID: PMC10170139 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33976-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a symptomatic disease involed multi-stage program. Here, we elucidated the molecular mechanism of LncTUG1 in the regulation of HCC evolvement. And that may in all likelyhood supply a innovative latent target for HCC's diagnoses and prognosis. LncRNA TUG1, miR-144-3p, RRAGD and mTOR signaling pathway were screened as target genes in the database, and their expression levels at the cytological level were verified utilized qRT-PCR, Western Blot and immunohistochemistry. Then, we adopted CCK-8, Transwell and flow cytometry assays to estimate cell proliferation, invasion and apoptosis. By use of luciferase reporter assay, the relationships of LncRNA TUG1, miR-144-3p and RRAGD was confirmed. In addition, the LncRNA TUG1-miR-144-3p-RRAGD-mTOR signaling pathway in HCC cells was verified adopted rescue experiment and confirmed by xenotransplantation animal experiment. LncTUG1 in HCC tissues from three databases were identified and further verified through qRT-PCR in HCC cells (Huh7, Hep3B). Knockdown the LncTUG1 could increase apoptosis and inhibite invasion and proliferation in HCC cells. Using inhibitors and activators of the mTOR/S6K pathway, LncTUG1 was confirmed to regulate HCC progression by the mTOR/S6K pathway. Luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that TUG1 negatively regulates miR-144-3p. Furthermore, miR-144-3p negativly regulates RRAGD by way of interacting with the 3'UTR of the RRAGD mRNA in HCC utilized luciferase reporter assay. In vivo, we also discovered that neoplasm weight and tumor volume reduced significantly in subcutaneous xenograft nude mouse models derived from sh-LncTUG1-expressing Huh7 cells. And the expressions of p-mTOR, p-S6K and RRAGD were decreased obviously while the miR144-3p increased in subcutaneous xenograft nude mouse models. In a word, the research suggests that LncTUG1 targets miR-144-3p while miR-144-3p binds to RRAGD mRNA, which induces mTOR/S6K pathway activation and promotes the progression of HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weixi Chen
- Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, 063000, China
| | - Zekun Bai
- Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, 063000, China
| | - Wen Bai
- Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, 063000, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, 063000, China
| | - Jiapei Guo
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Mengnan Guo
- Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, 063000, China
| | - Yingying Sai
- Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, 063000, China
| | - Jun Shi
- Tangshan Nanhu Hospital, Tangshan, 063000, China
| | - Jinghua Wu
- Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, 063000, China.
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Ahmed F, Zakaria F, Enebong Nya G, Mouchli M. Sirolimus vs tacrolimus: Which one is the best therapeutic option for patients undergoing liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma? World J Gastrointest Surg 2022; 14:862-866. [PMID: 36157369 PMCID: PMC9453335 DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v14.i8.862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 07/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Liver transplantation (LT) withstands as the most preferred therapeutic option for patients afflicted with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cirrhosis. To improve prognosis post-transplant, as well as to prevent the occurrence of rejection, a life-long immunosuppression strategy is implemented. The following letter to the editor highlights and provides novel evidence from recently published literature on topics discussed within the review article titled “Trends of rapamycin in survival benefits of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma” in World J Gastrointest Surg 2021; 13: 953-966. In the recent manuscript, the authors compared immunosuppressive drugs such as the newer option first-generation mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor, also known as sirolimus, with the most widely used first-generation calcineurin inhibitors, such as tacrolimus (TAC). TAC is commonly known as the most effective immunosuppressive drug after LT, but it has been reported to cause intolerable side effects such as nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity, diabetes, hypertension, gastrointestinal disturbances, increased risk of infections, and malignancies. It is necessary for physicians to be aware of recent advances in tacrolimus and sirolimus therapies to compare and understand distinctly the effectiveness and tolerability of these drugs. This will assist clinicians in making the best treatment decisions and improve the clinical prognosis of LT recipients with HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faiza Ahmed
- Division of Clinical and Translational Research, Larkin Community Hospital-Larkin Healthcare Systems, South Miami, FL 33143, United States
| | - Faiza Zakaria
- Department of Internal Medicine, Dow Medical College, Karachi 75400, Pakistan
| | - Godsgift Enebong Nya
- Department of Gastroenterology, John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States
| | - Mohamad Mouchli
- Department of Gastroenterology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, United States
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