Nadia Panera, Sara Ceccarelli, Cristiano Stefanis, Valerio Nobili, Anna Alisi – 22 December 2012

James E. Everhart, Elizabeth C. Wright – 19 December 2012 – Increased γ‐glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity is associated with liver injury and with mortality in the general population. Less is known about its association with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) outcomes. We examined GGT as a predictor of both virological response to treatment and long‐term clinical outcomes in the Hepatitis C Anti‐viral Treatment Against Cirrhosis Trial (HALT‐C).

Shao‐Jung Lo, Li‐Ching Fan, Yow‐Fu Tsai, Kuo‐Yang Lin, Hsiao‐Ling Huang, Tong‐Hong Wang, Hsuan Liu, Tse‐Chin Chen, Shiu‐Fen Huang, Chee‐Jen Chang, Yu‐Jr Lin, Benjamin Yat‐Ming Yung, Sen‐Yung Hsieh – 19 December 2012 – Death evasion is crucial for both carcinogenesis and resistance to anticancer therapies. Recently, we identified nucleophosmin (NPM) as a key factor counteracting death stimuli in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Here we report the identification of a novel NPM‐BCL2‐associated X protein (BAX) pathway orchestrating death evasion in human HCC cells.

Jiansheng Huang, Emily Barr, David A. Rudnick – 19 December 2012 – The studies reported here were undertaken to define the regulation and functional importance of zinc‐dependent histone deacetylase (Zn‐HDAC) activity during liver regeneration using the mouse partial hepatectomy (PH) model. The results showed that hepatic HDAC activity was significantly increased in nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions following PH.

Na Cheng, Yandong Li, Ze‐Guang Han – 19 December 2012 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers and shows a propensity to metastasize and infiltrate adjacent and more distant tissues. However, the mechanisms that contribute to tumor metastasis remain unclear. Here we evaluate the effect of Argonaute2 (Ago2), a member of the Ago gene family that plays a role in short interfering RNA‐mediated gene silencing, on HCC tumorigenesis, and metastasis. We found that Ago2 was frequently up‐regulated in HCC specimens compared to that in corresponding adjacent nontumor liver.

Minjun Chen, Jürgen Borlak, Weida Tong – 19 December 2012 – Drug‐induced liver injury (DILI) is a leading cause of drug failure in clinical trials and a major reason for drug withdrawals from the market. Although there is evidence that dosages of ≥100 mg/day are associated with increased risk for hepatotoxicity, many drugs are safe at such dosages. There is an unmet need to predict risk for DILI more reliably, and lipophilicity might be a contributing factor.

James E. Everhart, Elizabeth C. Wright – 19 December 2012 – Increased γ‐glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity is associated with liver injury and with mortality in the general population. Less is known about its association with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) outcomes. We examined GGT as a predictor of both virological response to treatment and long‐term clinical outcomes in the Hepatitis C Anti‐viral Treatment Against Cirrhosis Trial (HALT‐C).

Ina Rittelmeyer, Michael Rothe, Martijn H. Brugman, Marcus Iken, Axel Schambach, Michael P. Manns, Christopher Baum, Ute Modlich, Michael Ott – 19 December 2012 – Lentiviral (LV) vectors are promising tools for long‐term genetic correction of hereditary diseases. In hematopoietic stem cell gene therapies adverse events in patients due to vector integration‐associated genotoxicity have been observed. Only a few studies have explored the potential risks of LV gene therapy targeting the liver.

Yu‐Tzu Tseng, Sui‐Yuan Chang, Wen‐Chun Liu, Hsin‐Yun Sun, Cheng‐Hsin Wu, Pei‐Ying Wu, Ching‐Lan Lu, Chien‐Ching Hung, Shan‐Chwen Chang – 19 December 2012 – The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to compare the serologic response between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐infected men who have sex with men (MSM) receiving two and three doses of hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccine and HIV‐uninfected MSM receiving two doses of HAV vaccine. Between June 2009 and December 2010, 582 MSM aged 18 to 40 years who were seronegative for HAV were enrolled in the study.

Sanjoy Roychowdhury, Megan R. McMullen, Sorana G. Pisano, Xiuli Liu, Laura E. Nagy – 14 December 2012 – Hepatocyte cell death via apoptosis and necrosis are major hallmarks of ethanol‐induced liver injury. However, inhibition of apoptosis is not sufficient to prevent ethanol‐induced hepatocyte injury or inflammation. Because receptor‐interacting protein kinase (RIP) 3–mediated necroptosis, a nonapoptotic cell death pathway, is implicated in a variety of pathological conditions, we tested the hypothesis that ethanol‐induced liver injury is RIP3‐dependent and RIP1‐independent.