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      Silymarin/Silybin and Chronic Liver Disease: A Marriage of Many Years

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          Abstract

          Silymarin is the extract of Silybum marianum, or milk thistle, and its major active compound is silybin, which has a remarkable biological effect. It is used in different liver disorders, particularly chronic liver diseases, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, because of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic power. Indeed, the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effect of silymarin is oriented towards the reduction of virus-related liver damages through inflammatory cascade softening and immune system modulation. It also has a direct antiviral effect associated with its intravenous administration in hepatitis C virus infection. With respect to alcohol abuse, silymarin is able to increase cellular vitality and to reduce both lipid peroxidation and cellular necrosis. Furthermore, silymarin/silybin use has important biological effects in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These substances antagonize the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, by intervening in various therapeutic targets: oxidative stress, insulin resistance, liver fat accumulation and mitochondrial dysfunction. Silymarin is also used in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma that represent common end stages of different hepatopathies by modulating different molecular patterns. Therefore, the aim of this review is to examine scientific studies concerning the effects derived from silymarin/silybin use in chronic liver diseases, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

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          Diagnosis, management, and treatment of hepatitis C: an update.

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            Wnt signalling and its impact on development and cancer.

            The Wnt signalling pathway is an ancient system that has been highly conserved during evolution. It has a crucial role in the embryonic development of all animal species, in the regeneration of tissues in adult organisms and in many other processes. Mutations or deregulated expression of components of the Wnt pathway can induce disease, most importantly cancer. The first gene to be identified that encodes a Wnt signalling component, Int1 (integration 1), was molecularly characterized from mouse tumour cells 25 years ago. In parallel, the homologous gene Wingless in Drosophila melanogaster, which produces developmental defects in embryos, was characterized. Since then, further components of the Wnt pathway have been identified and their epistatic relationships have been defined. This article is a Timeline of crucial discoveries about the components and functions of this essential pathway.
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              Control of β-Catenin Phosphorylation/Degradation by a Dual-Kinase Mechanism

                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: Academic Editor
                Role: Academic Editor
                Journal
                Molecules
                Molecules
                molecules
                Molecules : A Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry
                MDPI
                1420-3049
                24 January 2017
                February 2017
                : 22
                : 2
                : 191
                Affiliations
                Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, 80131 Naples, Italy; marcello.dallio@ 123456gmail.com (M.D.); carmelina.loguercio@ 123456unina2.it (C.L.)
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence: alessandro.federico@ 123456unina2.it ; Tel.: +39-081-566-6723
                Article
                molecules-22-00191
                10.3390/molecules22020191
                6155865
                28125040
                79e0b341-5aaa-4af4-a502-30c94732ea8c
                © 2017 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 06 December 2016
                : 18 January 2017
                Categories
                Review

                silymarin,silybin,antioxidants,alcoholic liver disease,viral hepatitis,non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,hepatocellular carcinoma

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