Importance of cardiometabolic risk factors in the association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and arterial stiffness in adolescents

Rae‐Chi Huang, Lawrence J. Beilin, Oyekoya Ayonrinde, Trevor A. Mori, John K. Olynyk, Sally Burrows, Beth Hands, Leon A. Adams – 22 May 2013 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide and is regarded as the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. In adults, NAFLD is a determinant of arterial stiffness and cardiovascular risk, independent of the metabolic syndrome. Our aim was to ascertain if NAFLD is associated with arterial stiffness, independent of cardiometabolic factors in a population‐based cohort of adolescents.

Microbiota‐liver axis in hepatic disease

Benoit Chassaing, Lucie Etienne‐Mesmin, Andrew T. Gewirtz – 22 May 2013 – Accumulating evidence indicates that the gut microbiota, long appreciated to be a key determinant of intestinal inflammation, is also playing a key role in chronic inflammatory disease of the liver. Such studies have yielded a general central hypothesis whereby microbiota products activate the innate immune system to drive proinflammatory gene expression, thus promoting chronic inflammatory disease of the liver.

The small molecule, genistein, increases hepcidin expression in human hepatocytes

Aileen W. Zhen, Nancy H. Nguyen, Yann Gibert, Shmulik Motola, Peter Buckett, Marianne Wessling‐Resnick, Ernest Fraenkel, Paula G. Fraenkel – 22 May 2013 – Hepcidin, a peptide hormone that decreases intestinal iron absorption and macrophage iron release, is a potential drug target for patients with iron overload syndromes because its levels are inappropriately low in these individuals.

Identification of intramural epithelial networks linked to peribiliary glands that express progenitor cell markers and proliferate after injury in mice

Frank DiPaola, Pranavkumar Shivakumar, Janet Pfister, Stephanie Walters, Gregg Sabla, Jorge A. Bezerra – 22 May 2013 – Peribiliary glands (PBGs) are clusters of epithelial cells residing in the submucosal compartment of extrahepatic bile ducts (EHBDs). Though their function is largely undefined, they may represent a stem cell niche. Here, we hypothesized that PBGs are populated by mature and undifferentiated cells capable of proliferation in pathological states.

Advanced glycation endproducts induce fibrogenic activity in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis by modulating TNF‐α‐converting enzyme activity in mice

Joy X. Jiang, Xiangling Chen, Hiroo Fukada, Nobuko Serizawa, Sridevi Devaraj, Natalie J. Török – 22 May 2013 – Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) accumulate in patients with diabetes, yet the link between AGEs and inflammatory and fibrogenic activity in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has not been explored. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α)‐converting enzyme (TACE) is at the center of inflammatory processes.

Low vitamin D serum concentration is associated with high levels of hepatitis B virus replication in chronically infected patients

Harald Farnik, Jörg Bojunga, Annemarie Berger, Regina Allwinn, Oliver Waidmann, Bernd Kronenberger, Oliver T. Keppler, Stefan Zeuzem, Christoph Sarrazin, Christian M. Lange – 22 May 2013 – Vitamin D is an important immune modulator that plays an emerging role in inflammatory and metabolic liver diseases, including infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). In contrast, the relationship between vitamin D metabolism and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is less well characterized.

Circulating chemokine (C‐X‐C Motif) receptor 5+CD4+ T cells benefit hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion through IL‐21 in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Yongyin Li, Shiwu Ma, Libo Tang, Yun Li, Wei Wang, Xuan Huang, Qintao Lai, Mingxia Zhang, Jian Sun, Chris Kafai Li, William G.H. Abbott, Nikolai V. Naoumov, Yu Zhang, Jinlin Hou – 22 May 2013 – Given the clinical significance of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, it is critical to elucidate the mechanisms regulating this process.

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