Boris Görg, Hans‐Jürgen Bidmon, Dieter Häussinger – 16 January 2013 – Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a frequent complication of liver cirrhosis and is seen as the clinical manifestation of a low‐grade cerebral edema associated with oxidative‐nitrosative stress. However, comprehensive data on HE‐associated molecular derangements in the human brain are lacking. In the present study, we used a whole human genome microarray approach for gene expression profiling in post mortem brain samples from patients with cirrhosis with or without HE and controls without cirrhosis.

Su Mi Choi, Yonghak Kim, Joong Sup Shim, Joon Tae Park, Rui‐Hong Wang, Steven D. Leach, Jun O. Liu, Chuxia Deng, Zhaohui Ye, Yoon‐Young Jang – 16 January 2013 – Patient‐specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) represent a potential source for developing novel drug and cell therapies. Although increasing numbers of disease‐specific iPSCs have been generated, there has been limited progress in iPSC‐based drug screening/discovery for liver diseases, and the low gene‐targeting efficiency in human iPSCs warrants further improvement.

Yi‐Ming Tao, Jin‐Lin Huang, Shan Zeng, Sai Zhang, Xue‐Gong Fan, Zhi‐Ming Wang, Hui‐Xiang Yang, Xiao‐Hua Yuan, Pu Wang, Fan Wu, Jia Luo, De‐Yu Zeng, Hong Shen – 16 January 2013 – Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical step in the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). BTB/POZ domain‐containing protein 7 (BTBD7) regulates EMT‐associated proteins implicated in HCC progression. However, the role(s) of BTBD7 in HCC have not been identified.

Chia‐Hsuin Chang, Jou‐Wei Lin, Mei‐Shu Lai, Lee‐Ming Chuang – 16 January 2013

Hui Peng, Lily Dara, Tony W.H. Li, Yuhua Zheng, Heping Yang, Maria Lauda Tomasi, Ivan Tomasi, Pasquale Giordano, Jose M. Mato, Shelly C. Lu – 16 January 2013 – Methionine adenosyltransferase 2B (MAT2B) encodes for two variant proteins (V1 and V2) that promote cell growth. Using in‐solution proteomics, GIT1 (G Protein Coupled Receptor Kinase Interacting ArfGAP 1) was identified as a potential interacting partner of MAT2B. Here, we examined the functional significance of this interplay. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments examined protein interactions.

Ming‐Lung Yu, Chuan‐Mo Lee, Chi‐Ling Chen, Wan‐Long Chuang, Sheng‐Nan Lu, Chen‐Hua Liu, Shun‐Sheng Wu, Li‐Ying Liao, Hsing‐Tao Kuo, You‐Chen Chao, Shui‐Yi Tung, Sien‐Sing Yang, Jia‐Horng Kao, Wei‐Wen Su, Chih‐Lin Lin, Hung‐Chih Yang, Pei‐Jer Chen, Ding‐Shinn Chen, Chun‐Jen Liu, for the Taiwan Liver‐Net Consortium – 15 January 2013 – Patients dually infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV)/hepatitis B virus (HBV) have a higher risk of developing advanced liver disease or hepatocellular carcinoma compared with monoinfected patients.

Katharina Esser‐Nobis, Inés Romero‐Brey, Tom M. Ganten, Jérôme Gouttenoire, Christian Harak, Rahel Klein, Peter Schemmer, Marco Binder, Paul Schnitzler, Darius Moradpour, Ralf Bartenschlager, Stephen J. Polyak, Wolfgang Stremmel, François Penin, Christoph Eisenbach, Volker Lohmann – 15 January 2013 – Intravenous silibinin (SIL) is an approved therapeutic that has recently been applied to patients with chronic hepatitis C, successfully clearing hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in some patients even in monotherapy.

Justin R. Henning, Christopher S. Graffeo, Adeel Rehman, Nina C. Fallon, Constantinos P. Zambirinis, Atsuo Ochi, Rocky Barilla, Mohsin Jamal, Michael Deutsch, Stephanie Greco, Melvin Ego‐Osuala, Usama Bin‐Saeed, Raghavendra S. Rao, Sana Badar, Juan P. Quesada, Devrim Acehan, George Miller – 15 January 2013 – Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the most common etiology of chronic liver dysfunction in the United States and can progress to cirrhosis and liver failure. Inflammatory insult resulting from fatty infiltration of the liver is central to disease pathogenesis.

Toshiya Kamiyama, Hideki Yokoo, Jun‐Ichi Furukawa, Masaki Kurogochi, Tomoaki Togashi, Nobuaki Miura, Kazuaki Nakanishi, Hirofumi Kamachi, Tatsuhiko Kakisaka, Yosuke Tsuruga, Masato Fujiyoshi, Akinobu Taketomi, Shin‐Ichiro Nishimura, Satoru Todo – 15 January 2013 – The altered N‐glycosylation of glycoproteins has been suggested to play an important role in the behavior of malignant cells. Using glycomics technology, we attempted to determine the specific and detailed N‐glycan profile for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and investigate the prognostic capabilities.

Romain Desgrippes, Fabrice Lainé, Jeff Morcet, Michèle Perrin, Ghislain Manet, Caroline Jezequel, Edouard Bardou‐Jacquet, Martine Ropert, Yves Deugnier – 15 January 2013 – An excess of visceral adipose tissue could be involved as a modulator of the penetrance of HFE hemochromatosis since fat mass is associated with overexpression of hepcidin and low transferrin saturation was found to be associated with being overweight in women.