Liver failure is an impairment of liver functions reflecting a massive deterioration of the liver that becames damaged beyond repair. It is a life-threatening condition that requires urgent medical care. Liver failure can either occur suddenly, in which case it is called Acute Liver Failure (ALF), or arises gradually over several years and is referred to as Chronic Liver Failure. It can be caused by infectious agents such as hepatitis viruses, cancer, alcohol or other toxic substances, or result from genetic factors.
During the course of liver failure, a number of molecular pathways governing oxidative stress and apoptosis are activated in concert, inducing massive tissue injury and suppressing liver cell proliferation. Liver oxidative stress is induced by an increase in the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), generated by the causal agents of liver failure and exceeding the antioxidative capacities of hepatocytes.
The Centre Hepato-Biliaire is a referral center for patients suffering from severe acute liver failure. Since 1986, when the liver transplantation programme for fulminant hepatitis was initiated, the Centre Hepato-Biliaire has developed expertise in managing patients with severe liver failure. Large data and specimen libraries have been built up over time, providing valuable study materials for work on liver inflammation, oxidative stress, and regeneration.
Objectives of our "Liver Failure" research programme
- To investigate the molecular and cellular events associated with viral, toxic, inflammatory, auto-/allo-immune, ischemic, and oxidative aggression and the onset of acute liver failure;
- To study the mechanistic networks involved in the hepatoprotective response to liver injury;
- To unravel the communication between the different cell populations involved in liver regeneration during severe acute and fulminant hepatitis;
- To decipher the inter-organ communication network that leads to liver failure or regeneration, with particular focus on the relationships between intestine, microbiota, and liver;
- To develop therapeutic and diagnostic innovations based on our preclinical studies.