Xi‐Dai Long, Jin‐Guang Yao, Zhi Zeng, Yun Ma, Xiao‐Ying Huang, Zhong‐Hua Wei, Min Liu, Jian‐Jun Zhang, Feng Xue, Bo Zhai, Qiang Xia – 6 February 2013 – X‐ray repair complementing group 4 (XRCC4) is very important in maintaining overall genome stability and may play an important role in carcinogenesis. We aimed to investigate the role of polymorphisms in the coding region of this gene in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) caused by aflatoxin B1 (AFB1).

Han Han, Dan Sun, Wenjuan Li, Hongxing Shen, Yahui Zhu, Chen Li, Yuxing Chen, Longfeng Lu, Wenhua Li, Jinxiang Zhang, Yuan Tian, Youjun Li – 6 February 2013 – c‐Myc (Myc) plays an important role in normal liver development and tumorigenesis. We show here that Myc is pathologically activated in and essential for promoting human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Myc induces HCC through a novel, microRNA (miRNA)‐mediated feedback loop comprised of miR‐148a‐5p, miR‐363‐3p, and ubiquitin‐specific protease 28 (USP28).

Miriam B. Vos, Joel E. Lavine – 6 February 2013 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in adults and children. A number of genetic and environmental factors are known to predispose individuals to NAFLD. Certain dietary sugars, particularly fructose, are suspected to contribute to the development of NAFLD and its progression. The increasing quantity of fructose in the diet comes from sugar additives (most commonly sucrose and high fructose corn syrup) in beverages and processed foods.

Yun‐Yong Park, Sang‐Bae Kim, Hee Dong Han, Bo Hwa Sohn, Ji Hoon Kim, Jiyong Liang, Yiling Lu, Cristian Rodriguez‐Aguayo, Gabriel Lopez‐Berestein, Gordon B. Mills, Anil K. Sood, Ju‐Seog Lee – 6 February 2013 – Metabolic changes are common features of many cancer cells and are frequently associated with the clinical outcome of patients with various cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Thus, aberrant metabolic pathways in cancer cells are attractive targets for cancer therapy.

R. Todd Stravitz, Regina Bowling, Robert L. Bradford, Nigel S. Key, Sam Glover, Leroy R. Thacker, Don A. Gabriel – 6 February 2013 – Microparticles (MPs), membrane fragments of 0.1‐1.0 μm, are derived from many cell types in response to systemic inflammation. Acute liver failure (ALF) is a prototypical syndrome of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) associated with a procoagulant state. We hypothesized that patients with ALF develop increased procoagulant MPs in proportion to the severity of systemic complications and adverse outcome.

Nadia Warner, Stephen Locarnini – 6 February 2013

Jasmohan S. Bajaj, Leroy R. Thacker, Douglas M. Heuman, Michael Fuchs, Richard K. Sterling, Arun J. Sanyal, Puneet Puri, Mohammad S. Siddiqui, Richard T. Stravitz, Iliana Bouneva, Velimir Luketic, Nicole Noble, Melanie B. White, Pamela Monteith, Ariel Unser, James B. Wade – 6 February 2013 – Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) detection is difficult because of the unavailability of short screening tools. Therefore, MHE patients can remain undiagnosed and untreated. The aim of this study was to use a Stroop smartphone application (app) (EncephalApp_Stroop) to screen for MHE.

Romina Mancinelli, Antonio Franchitto, Shannon Glaser, Fanyin Meng, Paolo Onori, Sharon DeMorrow, Heather Francis, Julie Venter, Guido Carpino, Kimberley Baker, Yuyan Han, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Eugenio Gaudio, Gianfranco Alpini – 6 February 2013 – Large, but not small, cholangiocytes (1) secrete bicarbonate by interaction with secretin receptors (SRs) through activation of cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR), Cl−/HCO3− (apex) anion exchanger 2 (Cl−/HCO3− AE2), and adenylyl cyclase (AC)8 (proteins regulating large biliary functions) and (2) proliferate in response to bile duct ligation

Juan Pablo Arab, Luis Meneses, Rosa M. Pérez, Marco Arrese, Carlos Benítez – 6 February 2013

Neil Kaplowitz – 6 February 2013