Context: Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) represents a diverse set of responses following exposure to any manufactured or naturally occurring chemical compound. Drug-induced liver injury is of major concern owing to the ever increasing number of compounds introduced into the market for treatment of various diseases as well as the increasing popularity of herbals, which lend themselves to self-medication but are not rigorously regulated. Objective: To provide an overview of the prevalence, classification, and diagnosis of DILI with emphasis on pathogenesis and the role of a liver biopsy. To focus on the most common, emerging, and herbal agents that cause DILI with emphasis on the histologic pattern of injury observed. Data Sources: A review of the literature was drawn from the PubMed (US National Library of Medicine) repository, textbooks, and online databases. All figures were taken from cases seen at our tertiary referral center, which is 1 of 12 participating sites in the National Institutes of Health–funded Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network. Conclusions: Drug-induced liver injury due to prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal products is a major cause of liver disease in the United States and around the world. Diagnosis of DILI is challenging because there is no single clinical, laboratory, or histologic feature specific to DILI. Accurate diagnosis requires establishing a causal relationship with the suspected agent and excluding competing causes of liver injury. The liver biopsy is an essential component in the management of DILI by offering clues to the underlying pathogenesis, providing prognostic information, and guiding therapy.

Grouping genetic perturbations and marine-derived compounds by the gene signatures they produce reveals potential therapeutics and their targets.

Purpose: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly metastatic disease that can be separated into distinct subtypes based on molecular signatures. Identifying PDAC subtype-specific therapeutic vulnerabilities is necessary to develop precision medicine approaches to treat PDAC. Experimental Design: A total of 56 PDAC liver metastases were obtained from the UNMC Rapid Autopsy Program and analyzed with quantitative proteomics. PDAC subtypes were identified by principal component analysis based on protein expression profiling. Proteomic subtypes were further characterized by the associated clinical information, including but not limited to survival analysis, drug treatment response, and smoking and drinking status. Results: Over 3,960 proteins were identified and used to delineate four distinct PDAC microenvironment subtypes: (i) metabolic; (ii) progenitor-like; (iii) proliferative; and (iv) inflammatory. PDAC risk factors of alcohol and tobacco consumption correlate with subtype classifications. Enhanced survival is observed in FOLFIRINOX treated metabolic and progenitor-like subtypes compared with the proliferative and inflammatory subtypes. In addition, TYMP, PDCD6IP, ERAP1, and STMN showed significant association with patient survival in a subtype-specific manner. Gemcitabine-induced alterations in the proteome identify proteins, such as serine hydroxymethyltransferase 1, associated with drug resistance. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that proteomic analysis of clinical PDAC liver metastases can identify molecular signatures unique to disease subtypes and point to opportunities for therapeutic development to improve the treatment of PDAC.

Idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) predominantly includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. The pathogenesis of IBD is complex and not completely understood. MicroRNAs belong to a class of noncoding small RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. Unique microRNA expression profiles have been explored in IBD. In this review, we focus on the unique microRNA expression pattern in both tissue and peripheral blood from IBD patients and emphasize the potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The discovery of microRNAs has contributed to our understanding of IBD pathogenesis and might lead to clinical advance in new therapeutics.