Hepatoprotective effects of the dual peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor alpha/delta agonist, GFT505, in rodent models of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Bart Staels, Anne Rubenstrunk, Benoit Noel, Géraldine Rigou, Philippe Delataille, Lesley J. Millatt, Morgane Baron, Anthony Lucas, Anne Tailleux, Dean W. Hum, Vlad Ratziu, Bertrand Cariou, Rémy Hanf – 22 May 2013 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) covers a spectrum of liver damage ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis. To date, no pharmacological treatment is approved for NAFLD/NASH.

Microbiota‐liver axis in hepatic disease

Benoit Chassaing, Lucie Etienne‐Mesmin, Andrew T. Gewirtz – 22 May 2013 – Accumulating evidence indicates that the gut microbiota, long appreciated to be a key determinant of intestinal inflammation, is also playing a key role in chronic inflammatory disease of the liver. Such studies have yielded a general central hypothesis whereby microbiota products activate the innate immune system to drive proinflammatory gene expression, thus promoting chronic inflammatory disease of the liver.

Polo‐like kinase 2 is a mediator of hedgehog survival signaling in cholangiocarcinoma

Christian D. Fingas, Joachim C. Mertens, Nataliya Razumilava, Svenja Sydor, Steven F. Bronk, John D. Christensen, Sumera H. Rizvi, Ali Canbay, Jürgen W. Treckmann, Andreas Paul, Alphonse E. Sirica, Gregory J. Gores – 22 May 2013 – Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) cells paradoxically express the death ligand tumor necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL) and thus rely on potent survival signals to circumvent cell death by TRAIL. Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is an important survival pathway in CCA.

Identification of intramural epithelial networks linked to peribiliary glands that express progenitor cell markers and proliferate after injury in mice

Frank DiPaola, Pranavkumar Shivakumar, Janet Pfister, Stephanie Walters, Gregg Sabla, Jorge A. Bezerra – 22 May 2013 – Peribiliary glands (PBGs) are clusters of epithelial cells residing in the submucosal compartment of extrahepatic bile ducts (EHBDs). Though their function is largely undefined, they may represent a stem cell niche. Here, we hypothesized that PBGs are populated by mature and undifferentiated cells capable of proliferation in pathological states.

Radiological‐pathological analysis of WHO, RECIST, EASL, mRECIST and DWI: Imaging analysis from a prospective randomized trial of Y90 ± sorafenib

Michael Vouche, Laura Kulik, Rohi Atassi, Khairuddin Memon, Ryan Hickey, Daniel Ganger, Frank H. Miller, Vahid Yaghmai, Michael Abecassis, Talia Baker, Mary Mulcahy, Ritu Nayar, Robert J. Lewandowski, Riad Salem – 22 May 2013 – The aim of this study was to compare radiological and pathological changes and test the adjunct efficacy of Sorafenib to Y90 as a bridge to transplantation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). 15 patients with 16 HCC lesions were randomized to Y90 without (Group A, n = 9) or with Sorafenib (Group B, n = 7).

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 is a proviral host factor for hepatitis C virus

Erin M. McCartney, Karla J. Helbig, Sumudu K. Narayana, Nicholas S. Eyre, Amanda L. Aloia, Michael R. Beard – 22 May 2013 – Host factors play an important role in all facets of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle and one such host factor is signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). The HCV core protein has been shown to directly interact with and activate STAT3, while oxidative stress generated during HCV replication in a replicon‐based model also induced STAT3 activation. However, despite these findings the precise role of STAT3 in the HCV life cycle remains unknown.

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