Andrea D. Branch, Burc Barin, Adeeb Rahman, Peter Stock, Thomas D. Schiano – 29 October 2013 – An optimal vitamin D status may benefit liver transplantation (LT) patients. Higher levels of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] mitigate steroid‐induced bone loss after LT, correlate with better hepatitis C virus treatment responses, and increase graft survival.

Nir I. Nativ, Alvin I. Chen, Gabriel Yarmush, Scot D. Henry, Jay H. Lefkowitch, Kenneth M. Klein, Timothy J. Maguire, Rene Schloss, James V. Guarrera, Francois Berthiaume, Martin L. Yarmush – 29 October 2013 – Large‐droplet macrovesicular steatosis (ld‐MaS) in more than 30% of liver graft hepatocytes is a major risk factor for liver transplantation.

Ciprian Tomuleasa, Gianluigi Giannelli, Andrei Cucuianu, Mihaela Aldea, Angelo Paradiso, Ioana Berindan‐Neagoe – 29 October 2013

Zhigang Wang, Xiaobing Dou, Songtao Li, Ximei Zhang, Xinguo Sun, Zhanxiang Zhou, Zhenyuan Song – 29 October 2013 – Chronic alcohol consumption leads to hypertriglyceridemia, which is positively associated with alcoholic liver disease (ALD). However, whether and how it contributes to the development of fatty liver and liver injury are largely unknown. In this study we demonstrate that chronic alcohol exposure differently regulates the expression of very‐low‐density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR) in adipose tissue and the liver.

Elea Conrad, Theresa K. Resch, Patricia Gogesch, Ulrich Kalinke, Ingo Bechmann, Christian Bogdan, Zoe Waibler – 29 October 2013 – Cell types and mechanisms involved in type I interferon (IFN)‐mediated anti‐inflammatory effects are poorly understood. Upon injection of artificial double‐stranded RNA (poly(I:C)), we observed severe liver damage in type I IFN‐receptor (IFNAR) chain 1‐deficient mice, but not in wild‐type (WT) controls. Studying mice with conditional IFNAR ablations revealed that IFNAR triggering of myeloid cells is essential to protect mice from poly(I:C)‐induced liver damage.

Nicola F. Fletcher, Rupesh Sutaria, Juandy Jo, Amy Barnes, Miroslava Blahova, Luke W. Meredith, Francois‐Loic Cosset, Stuart M. Curbishley, David H. Adams, Antonio Bertoletti, Jane A. McKeating – 29 October 2013 – Macrophages are critical components of the innate immune response in the liver. Chronic hepatitis C is associated with immune infiltration and the infected liver shows a significant increase in total macrophage numbers; however, their role in the viral life cycle is poorly understood.

Young‐Joo Yang, Ju Hyun Shim, Kang Mo Kim, Young‐Suk Lim, Han Chu Lee – 29 October 2013 – A primary nonresponse to oral drugs against hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a generally accepted criterion for interrupting treatment. We investigated whether the concept of primary nonresponse suggested by current American (AASLD) and European (EASL) guidelines is appropriate for treatment with entecavir (ETV). The study included 1,254 treatment‐naïve patients who had pretreatment HBV DNA levels of >2,000 IU/mL and received ETV 0.5 mg/day for over 6 months.

Alessandro Cucchetti, Alessandro Vitale, Matteo Cescon, Martina Gambato, Lorenzo Maroni, Matteo Ravaioli, Giorgio Ercolani, Patrizia Burra, Umberto Cillo, Antonio D. Pinna – 26 October 2013 – Liver transplantation (LT) represents the only chance of long‐term survival for patients with end‐stage liver disease. When the mortality rate for transplant patients returns to the same level as that for the general population, they can be considered statistically cured. However, cure models in the setting of LT have never been applied.

Laura Lomaglio, John Isaac, Darius Mirza, M. Thamara PR Perera, Paolo Muiesan – 26 October 2013

Eric J. Keller, Paul Y. Kwo, Paul R. Helft – 26 October 2013 – The disparity between the demand for and supply of donor livers has continued to grow over the last 2 decades, and this has placed greater weight on the need for efficient and effective liver allocation. Although the use of extended criteria donors has shown great potential, it remains unregulated. A survival benefit–based model was recently proposed to answer calls to increase efficiency and reduce futile transplants.