title: The molecular basis of jaundice: An old symptom revisited.
abstract: Increased serum bilirubin level is a widely used diagnostic marker for hepatic illnesses. Nevertheless, mild elevation of unconjugated serum bilirubin (such as in Gilbert syndrome) has been recently demonstrated to correlate with low risk of chronic inflammatory and/or oxidative stress-mediated diseases. In accord, a low serum bilirubin level has emerged as an important predisposing factor or a biomarker of these pathologic conditions including cardiovascular, tumour, and possibly neurodegenerative diseases. Bilirubin possesses multiple biological actions with interaction in a complex network of enzymatic and signalling pathways. The fact that the liver is the main organ controlling the bioavailability of bilirubin emphasizes the central role of this organ in human health.
authors.affiliation: Liver Research Center, Italian Liver Foundation - ONLUS, AREA Science Park, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gazzin
authors.affiliation: Liver Research Center, Italian Liver Foundation - ONLUS, AREA Science Park, Trieste, Italy.|Center for Liver Diseases, Azienda Sanitaria Integrata (ASUITS), Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Flora
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Masutti
authors.affiliation: 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Libor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vitek
authors.affiliation: Liver Research Center, Italian Liver Foundation - ONLUS, AREA Science Park, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tiribelli
mesh_terms: D001663:Bilirubin / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007565:Jaundice / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D001663:Bilirubin
keywords: Gilbert syndrome; bilirubin; chronic diseases; human health; jaundice; oxidative stress