Mechanism Research and Disease Assessment of Drug-Induced Liver Injury

Dear Colleagues,

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) or hepatotoxicity is a disease of the liver and a common cause of acute liver failure with unknown etiology. DILI is a rare disease responsible for the withdrawal of drugs from the market due to its late detection, which poses a great concern for the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry. The high cost of the drug development pipeline and longer time to reach the market creates disappointment and a waste of scientific effort when drugs are withdrawn. It is very hard to detect a DILI drug and challenging to assess injury levels when multiple drugs are taken by patients. DILI is a growing concern in the drug development research community because of the increasing number of drugs used in medical care and the increasing number of individuals who take these drugs routinely. Hepatotoxicity is the highest concern of adverse drug reactions. DILI injury is induced by prescription drugs taken together with over-the-counter drugs and alternative medicines, such as herbal products and supplements.

DILI-related injury is still poorly understood today. There is no treatment available to cure an injured liver other than the discontinuation of drugs and the removal of offending agents, which can be helpful to avoid risk involved in pre-existing liver disease patients. DILI is classified as intrinsic and idiosyncratic. Intrinsic DILI is predictable and dose-dependent, whereas idiosyncratic DILI is unpredictable, dose-independent and has a variable latency period. The etiology of DILI remains complex and unclear. There is no clear categorization recommended for the classification of DILI.

Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanism of DILI. This special issue welcomes the use of in vitro models, animal models, computer studies, and human studies to explore the mechanisms of DILI that may shed light on its mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets. These findings may help further shed light on future management of DILI.

Dr. Munish Puri
Guest Editor

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• DILI
• hepatotoxicity
• DILI drugs
• liver injury