Toru Ikegami, Huanlin Wang, Daisuke Imai, Yuki Bekki, Tomoharu Yoshizumi, Yo‐Ichi Yamashita, Takeo Toshima, Yuji Soejima, Ken Shirabe, Yoshihiko Maehara – 25 July 2013 – Although the round ligament, including the umbilical vein, could be used as a venous graft in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), no studies have determined its appropriate use on the basis of pathological findings. We prospectively examined 19 LDLT cases in which the donor's round ligament was procured and used as a venous graft.

Daniel Nils Gotthardt, Jonas Senft, Peter Sauer, Karl Heinz Weiss, Christa Flechtenmacher, Isabella Eckerle, Yvonne Schaefer, Peter Schirmacher, Wolfgang Stremmel, Peter Schemmer, Paul Schnitzler – 25 July 2013 – Cholestatic complications, important causes of morbidity and mortality after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), often have an unclear etiology. Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections occur in immunosuppressed patients and can be detected in blood samples. However, CMV analyses of body fluids and biopsies are more sensitive.

Hirofumi Tomita, Ken Hoshino, Yasushi Fuchimoto, Hirotoshi Ebinuma, Kiyoshi Ohkuma, Yutaka Tanami, Wenlin Du, Yohei Masugi, Naoki Shimojima, Akihiro Fujino, Motohiro Kano, Takumi Fujimura, Hideo Ishihama, Takahiro Shimizu, Minoru Tanabe, Hidetsugu Saito, Michiie Sakamoto, Toshifumi Hibi, Yuko Kitagawa, Tatsuo Kuroda – 25 July 2013 – Graft fibrosis is a common finding during protocol biopsy examinations after pediatric liver transplantation.

Eric R. Kallwitz, Veronica Loy, Praveen Mettu, Natasha Roenn, Jamie Berkes, Scott J. Cotler – 25 July 2013 – There is a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome in liver transplant recipients, a population that tends to be physically inactive. The aim of this study was to characterize physical activity and evaluate the relationship between physical activity and metabolic syndrome after liver transplantation. A cross‐sectional analysis was performed in patients more than 3 months after transplantation.

Jessica Howell, Rohit Sawhney, Adam Testro, Narelle Skinner, Paul Gow, Peter Angus, Dilip Ratnam, Kumar Visvanathan – 25 July 2013 – Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) play a key role in transplantation biology. The effect of immunosuppression on TLR function after liver transplantation is unknown. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 113 post–liver transplant patients and 13 healthy controls were stimulated with TLR‐specific ligands [lipopolysaccharide (TLR4), pan‐3‐cys (P3C) (TLR2), Poly (I:C) (PIC) (TLR3), R848 (TLR7/8), and CpG (TLR9)] for 24 hours.

Antonio J. Carcas‐Sansuán, Loreto Hierro, Gonzalo N. Almeida‐Paulo, Esteban Frauca, Hoi Yan Tong, Carmen Díaz, Enrique Piñana, Jesús Frías‐Iniesta, Paloma Jara – 25 July 2013 – The recommended dose of Advagraf for conversion from Prograf is considered to be 1:1 on a milligram basis. However, the long‐term equivalence of Prograf and Advagraf has been questioned.

Alan Wigg, Kenneth Hon, Leigh Mosel, Nicole Sladden, Kevin Palumbo – 25 July 2013 – Despite the widespread use of locoregional therapies [radiofrequency ablation and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE)], there is currently a lack of high‐quality evidence supporting their use for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients on the liver transplantation (LT) waiting list or requiring down‐staging. Radiotherapy has rarely been used in this setting and has usually been in the form of more complex and less accessible techniques such as proton‐beam and stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Anne Frentzen, Anggakusuma, Engin Gürlevik, Kathrin Hueging, Sarah Knocke, Corinne Ginkel, Richard J.P. Brown, Markus Heim, Michael T. Dill, Andrea Kröger, Ulrich Kalinke, Lars Kaderali, Florian Kuehnel, Thomas Pietschmann – 19 July 2013 – Only humans and chimpanzees are susceptible to chronic infection by hepatitis C virus (HCV). The restricted species tropism of HCV is determined by distinct host factor requirements at different steps of the viral life cycle. In addition, effective innate immune targeting precludes efficient propagation of HCV in nonhuman cells.

Behnam Saberi, Maria D. Ybanez, Heather S. Johnson, William A. Gaarde, Derick Han, Neil Kaplowitz – 19 July 2013 – This study examines the role of protein kinase C (PKC) and AMP‐activated kinase (AMPK) in acetaminophen (APAP) hepatotoxicity. Treatment of primary mouse hepatocytes with broad‐spectrum PKC inhibitors (Ro‐31‐8245, Go6983), protected against APAP cytotoxicity despite sustained c‐jun‐N‐terminal kinase (JNK) activation. Broad‐spectrum PKC inhibitor treatment enhanced p‐AMPK levels and AMPK regulated survival‐energy pathways including autophagy.

Alexandru I. Musat, Courtney M. Pigott, Thomas M. Ellis, Rashmi M. Agni, Glen E. Leverson, Amy J. Powell, Katelyn R. Richards, Anthony M. D'Alessandro, Michael R. Lucey – 19 July 2013 – The significance of preexisting donor‐specific HLA antibodies (HLA‐DSAs) for liver allograft function is unclear. Our previous studies have shown that humoral alloreactivity frequently accompanies acute cellular rejection (ACR).