Objectives. We determined the serum bile acid (BA) composition in patients with liver diseases and healthy volunteers to investigate the relationship between the etiologies of liver disease and BA metabolism. Material and Methods. Sera from 150 patients with liver diseases and 46 healthy volunteers were obtained. The serum concentrations of the 16 different BAs were determined according to the LC-MS/MS method and were compared between the different liver diseases. Results. A total of 150 subjects, including patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) (n = 44), hepatitis B virus (HBV) (n = 23), alcoholic liver disease (ALD) (n = 21), biliary tract disease (n = 20), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (n = 13), and other liver diseases (n = 29), were recruited. The levels of UDCA and GUDCA were significantly higher in the ALD group, and the levels of DCA and UDCA were significantly lower in the biliary tract diseases group than in viral hepatitis group. In the UDCA therapy (−) subgroup, a significantly lower level of TLCA was observed in the ALD group, with lower levels of CDCA, DCA, and GLCA noted in biliary tract diseases group compared to viral hepatitis group. Conclusions. Analysis of the BA composition may be useful for differential diagnosis in liver disease.

Background and aimCentrilobular zonal necrosis (CZN) is a known histological variant of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). However, the significance of CZN is yet to be fully elucidated. This study aimed to determine whether CZN is a hallmark of a distinctive subtype of AIH.MethodsHistological changes in the centrilobular zones of liver biopsies from 113 AIH patients were assessed by a single pathologist and classified into three categories: typical zonal necrosis defined as CZN (15 patients); other necroinflammatory change (NIC; 24 patients); and absence of necrosis (non-NIC; 74 patients). The clinicopathological features and immunogenetic background of CZN patients were then assessed.ResultsThe clinicopathological features of AIH with CZN were distinct from other types of AIH, including a higher frequency of acute onset, lower frequency of antinuclear antibodies, lower antinuclear antibody titers, lower serum immunoglobulin G levels, lower grade interface hepatitis, less prominent lymphoplasmacytic infiltration, and lower AIH score. Increased and decreased frequencies of HLA-DR9 and HLA-DR4, respectively, were identified as immunogenetic features of AIH with CZN. Conversely, the clinicopathological characteristics of AIH with NIC were similar to those of non-NIC AIH, including the majority of the AIH patients. The therapeutic outcomes of AIH with CZN were excellent when precise diagnoses were made without delay.ConclusionThe clinicopathological features and immunogenetic background of AIH with CZN differed from AIH without CZN. CZN may be a hallmark of a distinct subtype of AIH.

In alcoholic liver cirrhosis, investigations of ALDH2 polymorphism and ethanol consumption profile are useful for prediction of HCC development.

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