An alpaca nanobody inhibits hepatitis C virus entry and cell‐to‐cell transmission

Alexander W. Tarr, Pierre Lafaye, Luke Meredith, Laurence Damier‐Piolle, Richard A. Urbanowicz, Annalisa Meola, Jean‐Luc Jestin, Richard J. P. Brown, Jane A. McKeating, Felix A. Rey, Jonathan K. Ball, Thomas Krey – 28 March 2013 – Severe liver disease caused by chronic hepatitis C virus is the major indication for liver transplantation. Despite recent advances in antiviral therapy, drug toxicity and unwanted side effects render effective treatment in liver‐transplanted patients a challenging task.

Hepatitis C virus treatment for prevention among people who inject drugs: Modeling treatment scale‐up in the age of direct‐acting antivirals

Natasha K. Martin, Peter Vickerman, Jason Grebely, Margaret Hellard, Sharon J. Hutchinson, Viviane D. Lima, Graham R. Foster, John F. Dillon, David J. Goldberg, Gregory J. Dore, Matthew Hickman – 28 March 2013 – Substantial reductions in hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence among people who inject drugs (PWID) cannot be achieved by harm reduction interventions such as needle exchange and opiate substitution therapy (OST) alone.

Hepatic macrophages but not dendritic cells contribute to liver fibrosis by promoting the survival of activated hepatic stellate cells in mice

Jean‐Philippe Pradere, Johannes Kluwe, Samuele Minicis, Jing‐Jing Jiao, Geum‐Youn Gwak, Dianne H. Dapito, Myoung‐Kuk Jang, Nina D. Guenther, Ingmar Mederacke, Richard Friedman, Ana‐Cristina Dragomir, Costica Aloman, Robert F. Schwabe – 28 March 2013 – Although it is well established that hepatic macrophages play a crucial role in the development of liver fibrosis, the underlying mechanisms remain largely elusive. Moreover, it is not known whether other mononuclear phagocytes such as dendritic cells (DCs) contribute to hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and liver fibrosis.

Discovery of naturally occurring transmissible chronic hepatitis B virus infection among Macaca fascicularis from mauritius island

Tatiana Dupinay, Tarik Gheit, Pierre Roques, Lucyna Cova, Philippe Chevallier‐Queyron, Shin‐i Tasahsu, Roger Grand, François Simon, Geneviève Cordier, Lahcen Wakrim, Soumaya Benjelloun, Christian Trépo, Isabelle Chemin – 27 March 2013 – Despite a high prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in endangered apes, no HBV infection has been reported in small, old‐world monkeys. In search for a small, nonhuman primate model, we investigated the prevalence of HBV infection in 260 macaque (Cercopithecidae) sera of various geographical origins (i.e., Morocco, Mauritius Island, and Asia).

Regulation of cholesterol and bile acid homeostasis by the cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase/steroid response element‐binding protein 2/microRNA‐33a axis in mice

Tiangang Li, Jessica M. Francl, Shannon Boehme, John Y. L. Chiang – 27 March 2013 – Bile acid synthesis not only produces physiological detergents required for intestinal nutrient absorption, but also plays a critical role in regulating hepatic and whole‐body metabolic homeostasis. We recently reported that overexpression of cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase (CYP7A1) in the liver resulted in improved metabolic homeostasis in Cyp7a1 transgenic (Cyp7a1‐tg) mice. This study further investigated the molecular links between bile acid metabolism and lipid homeostasis.

Serum alpha‐fetoprotein level independently predicts posttransplant survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Kristin Berry, George N. Ioannou – 27 March 2013 – We aimed to determine whether combining serum alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) level with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor burden would allow better stratification of posttransplant survival for patients with HCC undergoing liver transplantation. Adjusting for donor and recipient characteristics, we calculated the risk of posttransplant mortality associated with serum AFP level or HCC tumor burden for all first‐time adult liver transplants performed in the United States between 2002 and 2011 (n = 45,267).

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