Mary Ann Simpson, Elizabeth A. Pomfret – 1 August 2012 – Key Points

Holger Gohlke, Birte Schmitz, Annika Sommerfeld, Roland Reinehr, Dieter Häussinger – 1 August 2012 – Ursodeoxycholic acid, which in vivo is converted to its taurine conjugate tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDC), is a mainstay for the treatment of cholestatic liver disease. Earlier work showed that TUDC exerts its choleretic properties in the perfused rat liver in an α5β1 integrin‐mediated way. However, the molecular basis of TUDC‐sensing in the liver is unknown.

Jennifer E. Lambert, Vincent G. Bain, Edmond A. Ryan, Alan B.R. Thomson, Michael T. Clandinin – 1 August 2012 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) exerts a profound influence on host lipid metabolism. It has been suggested that the synthesis of both fatty acids (FA) and cholesterol is dysregulated in HCV but this has not been directly quantified in humans. The purpose of this study was to measure lipogenesis and cholesterol synthesis using stable isotopes in patients with HCV (n = 5) and healthy control (n = 9) subjects recruited from the University of Alberta hospital.

M. Behnan Sahin – 1 August 2012

Ying‐Ying Yang, Yi‐Tsau Huang, Tzung‐Yan Lee, Che‐Chang Chan, Yi‐Chen Yeh, Kuei‐Chuan Lee, Han‐Chieh Lin – 30 July 2012 – During liver transplantation, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) aggravates ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury by activating various kinases and subsequently releasing cytokines and chemokines. Nonetheless, the effect of the multikinase inhibitor sorafenib on IR liver injury in rats with NASH has never been explored. Our study was designed to determine this effect and associated mechanisms in NASH rats.

Zhenhua Hu, Wei Wang, Zhiwei Li, Sunyi Ye, Shu‐Sen Zheng – 30 July 2012 – Salvage liver transplantation (SLT), or liver transplantation after liver resection (LR), has been performed after primary LR for many years. However, the true outcomes and risks of SLT versus primary liver transplantation (PLT) remain unclear. We performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis to evaluate the survival rate of SLT recipients and the incidence of postoperative complications. Among 2799 screened references, 7 eligible studies were identified.

Marc L. Weber, Hassan N. Ibrahim, John R. Lake – 30 July 2012 – Major progress has been made in the field of liver transplantation since the first procedure was performed nearly 50 years ago. Despite these improvements, renal dysfunction before and after liver transplantation remains a major complicating factor associated with increased health care costs, morbidity, and mortality. Creatinine‐based estimates of renal function are inaccurate in the setting of end‐stage liver disease and often lead to underdiagnosis and late intervention.

Daniela P. Ladner, Anton I. Skaro, Michael M. Abecassis – 28 July 2012

Joanna Agnes Leithead, Matthew R. Smith, Luke B. Materacki, Vandana M. Sagar, Bridget K. Gunson, Simon R. Bramhall, David J. Mutimer, Tahir Shah – 28 July 2012 – Liver retransplantation for late hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) is considered the treatment of choice for select patients. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of data to aid decision making in this setting.

Naohisa Kuriyama, Shuji Isaji, Masashi Kishiwada, Ichiro Ohsawa, Takashi Hamada, Shugo Mizuno, Masanobu Usui, Hiroyuki Sakurai, Masami Tabata, Tomomi Yamada – 28 July 2012 – The problems associated with small‐for‐size liver grafts (ie, high mortality rates, postoperative complications, and acute rejection) remain critical issues in partial orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). In association with partial OLT, splenectomy (SP) is a procedure used to reduce the portal pressure. However, the precise effects of SP on partial OLT have been unclear.