Yuko Arima

The Influence of Polymorphisms of Interleukin-17A and Interleukin-17F Genes on the Susceptibility to Ulcerative Colitis

We investigated the association between ulcerative colitis (UC) and polymorphisms of IL-17A (rs2275913, G-197A) and IL-17F (rs763780, 7488T/C) genes. We employed the multiplex PCR-SSCP method to detect gene polymorphisms. Both the numbers of -197A (IL-17A) and 7488T (IL-17F) alleles were significantly correlated to the development of UC. The frequencies of -197A/A and 7488T/T genotypes in the UC group were significantly higher than those in the non-UC group. An adjusted analysis revealed that -197A and 7488T alleles were independent risk factors for the developing UC. In addition, both polymorphisms were significantly associated with the pancolitis phenotype. Furthermore, -197A allele was significantly correlated to the chronic relapsing phenotype and -197A/A homozygote was more frequent in steroid-dependent cases, whereas 7488T allele was correlated with the chronic continuous phenotype. Our results provided the first evidence that -197A (IL-17A) and 7488T (IL-17F) alleles may influence the susceptibility to and pathophysiological features of UC independently.

Liver stiffness measured by transient elastography correlates with fibrosis area in liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Aim:  Liver stiffness (LS) measured by transient elastography (TE) has been reported to correlate with liver fibrosis, which is usually semiquantitatively assessed. In the present study, the fibrosis area was measured by image analysis software in liver biopsy specimens and its correlation with LS was assessed.

Reduction of liver stiffness by interferon treatment in the patients with chronic hepatitis C

Aim:  To assess the regression of liver fibrosis after interferon (IFN) treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C, liver stiffness (LS) was measured repeatedly and the factors associated with reduction of LS were assessed.

Genetic polymorphisms of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) are associated with functional dyspepsia in Japanese women.

BACKGROUND Prostaglandins (PGs), catalyzed from arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenase (COX), are involved in a variety of physiological processes in the stomach. COX-1 has been regarded as a constitutively expressed enzyme that generates prostaglandins for gastrointestinal integrity. We investigated the association between the potentially functional polymorphism T-1676C in the COX-1 gene promoter and functional dyspepsia (FD) in the Japanese population. METHODS The study was performed in 272 subjects (185 with no upper abdominal symptoms and 87 with FD). We employed the PCR-SSCP method to detect the gene polymorphism. RESULTS Overall, female sex had a 2-2.5-fold risk for the development of FD compared with male sex, whereas the COX-1 gene polymorphism and Helicobacter pylori infection were not associated with susceptibility to FD. However, in female subjects, -1676T allele carriers had a significantly increased risk for the development of FD (OR 2.70, 95%CI 1.04-6.99, p = 0.041), especially the epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) subgroup (OR 4.07, 95%CI 1.15-14.4, p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS Our results provide the first evidence that the COX-1 gene polymorphism is significantly associated with the development of the EPS subgroup of FD in female subjects.

Liver stiffness in extrahepatic cholestasis correlates positively with bilirubin and negatively with alanine aminotransferase

Aim:  Transient elastography is a non‐invasive tool to measure liver stiffness (LS), which has been reported to correlate with stage of liver fibrosis. Extrahepatic cholestasis was reported to cause elevated LS, which is considered to be attributed to the increased hydrostatic pressure in the liver. In the present study, the correlation of LS with laboratory data was investigated in extrahepatic cholestasis. The change of LS after biliary drainage was also assessed.