Mona El Khatib, Anna Kalnytska, Vindhya Palagani, Uta Kossatz, Michael P. Manns, Nisar P. Malek, Ludwig Wilkens, Ruben R. Plentz – 21 November 2012 – The Hedgehog signaling pathway plays a pivotal role during embryonic development, stem cell maintenance, and wound healing. Hedgehog signaling also is deregulated in many cancers. However, the role of this signaling pathway in the carcinogenesis of cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) is still unknown.

Utaroh Motosugi, Tomoaki Ichikawa, Tsutomu Araki, Masanori Matsuda, Hideki Fujii, Nobuyuki Enomoto – 21 November 2012

Yanjun Jiang, Polina Iakova, Jingling Jin, Emily Sullivan, Vladislav Sharin, Il‐Hwa Hong, Sayee Anakk, Angela Mayor, Gretchen Darlington, Milton Finegold, David Moore, Nikolai A. Timchenko – 21 November 2012 – One of the early events in the development of liver cancer is a neutralization of tumor suppressor proteins Rb, p53, hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α), and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) α. The elimination of these proteins is mediated by a small subunit of proteasome, gankyrin, which is activated by cancer.

19 November 2012

Dmitri Bezinover, Zakiyah Kadry, Tadahiro Uemura, Michael Sharghi, Andrea M. Mastro, Donna M. Sosnoski, Priti Dalal, Piotr K. Janicki – 16 November 2012 – The activation of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) production in patients with end‐stage liver disease (ESLD) has been associated with hemodynamic instability during orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The aim of this prospective, observational study was to investigate the involvement of cGMP in the mediation of profound hypotension during liver graft reperfusion.

Narendra S. Choudhary, Sanjiv Saigal, Neeraj Saraf, Rajesh Puri, Arvinder Soin – 14 November 2012

Anne Mossdorf, Tom Ulmer, Sebastian Kalverkamp, Ulf Neumann, Christoph Heidenhain – 14 November 2012

Xijun Wang, Aihua Zhang, Hui Sun – 13 November 2012 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the commonest primary hepatic malignancy and the third most common cause of cancer‐related death worldwide. Incidence remains highest in the developing world and is steadily increasing across the developed world. Current diagnostic modalities, of ultrasound and α‐fetoprotein, are expensive and lack sensitivity in tumor detection. Because of its asymptomatic nature, HCC is usually diagnosed at late and advanced stages, for which there are no effective therapies.

Camille Sureau, Jessica Salisse – 13 November 2012 – Two determinants of infectivity have been identified in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) envelope proteins: a pre‐S1 receptor‐binding site and an uncharacterized determinant in the antigenic loop (AGL), which is structurally related to the antigenic a‐determinant. Infection would proceed through virus attachment to cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans (HSPGs) before pre‐S1 engages a specific receptor for uptake.

Hyunsun Jo, Sung Sik Choe, Kyung Cheul Shin, Hagoon Jang, Jae Ho Lee, Je Kyung Seong, Sung Hoon Back, Jae Bum Kim – 13 November 2012 – Recent evidence suggests that obese animals exhibit increased endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in the liver and adipose tissue. Although ER stress is closely associated with lipid homeostasis, it is largely unknown how ER stress contributes to hepatic steatosis. In this study, we demonstrate that the induction of ER stress stimulates hepatic steatosis through increased expression of the hepatic very low‐density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR).