Lauren E. Holz, Joo Chun Yoon, Sukanya Raghuraman, Susan Moir, Michael C. Sneller, Barbara Rehermann – 30 October 2012

Hung‐Chih Yang, Chi‐Ling Chen, Yueh‐Chi Shen, Cheng‐Yuan Peng, Chun‐Jen Liu, Tai‐Chung Tseng, Tung‐Hung Su, Wan‐Long Chuang, Ming‐Lung Yu, Chia‐Yen Dai, Chen‐Hua Liu, Pei‐Jer Chen, Ding‐Shinn Chen, Jia‐Horng Kao – 30 October 2012 – Precore (PC) (G1896A) and basal core promoter (BCP) (A1762T/G1764A) mutations of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome often emerge in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Their roles in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion induced by interferon (IFN) therapy remain controversial, partly because quantitative analysis for these mutants is lacking.

Xiao Qi Wang, Cindy K.Y. Cheung, Chung Mau Lo – 30 October 2012

Zhigang Tian, Yongyan Chen, Bin Gao – 30 October 2012 – Natural killer (NK) cells are enriched in lymphocytes within the liver and have unique phenotypic features and functional properties, including tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis‐inducing ligand–‐dependent cytotoxicity and specific cytokine profiles.

Zhigang Tian, Yongyan Chen, Bin Gao – 30 October 2012 – Natural killer (NK) cells are enriched in lymphocytes within the liver and have unique phenotypic features and functional properties, including tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis‐inducing ligand–‐dependent cytotoxicity and specific cytokine profiles.

Shmuel Shoham – 29 October 2012

Silja Kosola, Hanna Lampela, Hannu Jalanko, Heikki Mäkisalo, Jouko Lohi, Johanna Arola, Mikko P. Pakarinen – 29 October 2012 – Controversy remains about the role of protocol liver biopsy for symptom‐free recipients and about the long‐term use of low‐dose steroids after pediatric liver transplantation (LT). We conducted a national cross‐sectional study of pediatric recipients who underwent LT between 1987 and 2007.

Henrik Petrowsky, Fady Kaldas, Warwick Peacock, Dean Fisher, Johnny C. Hong, Charles Lassman, Ronald W. Busuttil – 19 October 2012

Jeffrey B. Halldorson, Harry J. Paarsch, Jennifer L. Dodge, Alberto M. Segre, Jennifer Lai, John Paul Roberts – 19 October 2012 – In the United States, livers for transplantation are distributed within donation service areas (DSAs). In DSAs with multiple transplant centers, competition among centers for organs and recipients may affect recipient selection and outcomes in comparison with DSAs with only 1 center. The objective of this study was to determine whether competition within a DSA is associated with posttransplant outcomes and variations in patients wait‐listed within the DSA.

Qiong‐Zhu Dong, Xiao‐Fei Zhang, Yue Zhao, Hu‐Liang Jia, Hai‐Jun Zhou, Chun Dai, Hai‐Jing Sun, Yi Qin, Wei‐De Zhang, Ning Ren, Qing‐Hai Ye, Lun‐Xiu Qin – 18 October 2012 – Osteopontin (OPN) plays a crucial role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis. However, little is known about the impact of OPN polymorphisms on cancer progression. In this study, we first identified the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the OPN promoter region by direct sequencing in 30 HCCs, and then evaluated the prognostic values of the selected ones in two large cohorts of 826 HCC patients.