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Increased Number Of Circulating Exosomes And Their Microrna Cargos Are Potential Novel Biomarkers In Alcoholic Hepatitis, Fatemeh Momen-Heravi, Banishree Saha, Karen Kodys, Donna Catalano, Abhishek Satishchandran, Gyongyi Szabo

Gyongyi Szabo

BACKGROUND: It has been well documented that alcohol and its metabolites induce injury and inflammation in the liver. However, there is no potential biomarker to monitor the extent of liver injury in alcoholic hepatitis patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs that are involved in various physiologic and pathologic processes. In the circulation, a great proportion of miRNAs is associated with extracellular vesicles (EVs)/exosomes. Here, we hypothesized that the exosome-associated miRNAs can be used as potential biomarkers in alcoholic hepatitis (AH).

METHODS: Exosomes were isolated from sera of alcohol-fed mice or pair-fed mice, and plasma of alcoholic hepatitis …

Micrornas In Alcoholic Liver Disease, Gyongyi Szabo, Abhishek Satishchandran

Gyongyi Szabo

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is characterized by hepatocyte damage, inflammatory cell activation and increased intestinal permeability leading to the clinical manifestations of alcoholic hepatitis. Selected members of the family of microRNAs are affected by alcohol, resulting in an abnormal miRNA profile in the liver and circulation in ALD. Increasing evidence suggests that mRNAs that regulate inflammation, lipid metabolism and promote cancer are affected by excessive alcohol administration in mouse models of ALD. This communication highlights recent findings in miRNA expression and functions as they relate to the pathogenesis of ALD. The cell-specific distribution of miRNAs, as well as the significance …

Consumer Hookah Consumption: Is The Hubble Bubble The New Coffee And Cocktail?, Tracy Harmon-Kizer

Tracy R. Harmon-Kizer Ph.D.

Hookah smoking is a growing practice among American teens and young adults. In a single hookah smoking session, a smoker may inhale 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled in a single cigarette. Yet, the risks and adverse consequences of hookah smoking are relatively unfamiliar to health professionals, tobacco policy regulators and consumer behavior researchers. To extend our understanding of this epidemic-like consumption practice, this study explores consumer initiation and continued practice, and the meanings, attitudes and beliefs held by those who smoke hookah, especially with respect to cigarette smoking. Our findings reveal adulterated ways in which hookah …