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.

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.

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.

Adrian Reuben – 22 May 2013

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.

Daniel J. Felmlee, Fei Xiao, Thomas F. Baumert – 22 May 2013

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.

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.

Orkhontuya Tsedensodnom, Kirsten C. Sadler – 22 May 2013

Bart Staels, Anne Rubenstrunk, Benoit Noel, Géraldine Rigou, Philippe Delataille, Lesley J. Millatt, Morgane Baron, Anthony Lucas, Anne Tailleux, Dean W. Hum, Vlad Ratziu, Bertrand Cariou, Rémy Hanf – 22 May 2013 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) covers a spectrum of liver damage ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis. To date, no pharmacological treatment is approved for NAFLD/NASH.