Wei‐Dong Chen, Donna Yu, Barry M. Forman, Wendong Huang, Yan‐Dong Wang – 22 August 2012 – Gpbar1 (TGR5), a membrane‐bound bile acid receptor, is well known for its roles in regulation of energy homeostasis and glucose metabolism. TGR5 activation also inhibits nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB)‐mediated inflammation. Here we show that TGR5 deficiency enhances chemically induced liver carcinogenesis, and that TGR5 is a negative regulator of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling.

Vincenzo Mazzaferro, Carlo Sposito, Sherrie Bhoori, Raffaele Romito, Carlo Chiesa, Carlo Morosi, Marco Maccauro, Alfonso Marchianò, Marco Bongini, Rodolfo Lanocita, Enrico Civelli, Emilio Bombardieri, Tiziana Camerini, Carlo Spreafico – 22 August 2012 – Yttrium‐90 radioembolization (Y90RE) is a novel approach to radiation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), never tested in phase 2 studies. Fifty‐two patients with intermediate (n.17) to advanced (n.35) HCC were prospectively recruited to assess, as the primary endpoint, efficacy of Y90RE on time‐to‐progression (TTP).

Sayuri Nitta, Naoya Sakamoto, Mina Nakagawa, Sei Kakinuma, Kako Mishima, Akiko Kusano‐Kitazume, Kei Kiyohashi, Miyako Murakawa, Yuki Nishimura‐Sakurai, Seishin Azuma, Megumi Tasaka‐Fujita, Yasuhiro Asahina, Mitsutoshi Yoneyama, Takashi Fujita, Mamoru Watanabe – 22 August 2012 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection blocks cellular interferon (IFN)‐mediated antiviral signaling through cleavage of Cardif by HCV‐NS3/4A serine protease.

Limin Xia, Wenjie Huang, Dean Tian, Hongwu Zhu, Xingshun Qi, Zheng Chen, Yongguo Zhang, Hao Hu, Daiming Fan, Yongzhan Nie, Kaichun Wu – 22 August 2012 – Recurrence and metastasis remain the most common causes of lethal outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative resection. Thus, it is critical to discover the mechanisms underlying HCC metastasis. Forkhead box C1 (FoxC1), a member of the Fox family of transcription factors, induces epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) and promotes epithelial cell migration.

Akira Honda, Tadashi Ikegami, Makoto Nakamuta, Teruo Miyazaki, Junichi Iwamoto, Takeshi Hirayama, Yoshifumi Saito, Hajime Takikawa, Michio Imawari, Yasushi Matsuzaki – 22 August 2012 – Bezafibrate is a widely used hypolipidemic agent and is known as a ligand of the peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptors (PPARs). Recently this agent has come to be recognized as a potential anticholestatic medicine for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) that does not respond sufficiently to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) monotherapy.

Alessia Bortoluzzi, Giulio Ceolotto, Elisabetta Gola, Antonietta Sticca, Sergio Bova, Filippo Morando, Salvatore Piano, Silvano Fasolato, Silvia Rosi, Angelo Gatta, Paolo Angeli – 22 August 2012 – The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect and molecular mechanism of albumin infusion on cardiac contractility in experimental cirrhosis with ascites. Cardiac contractility was recorded ex vivo in rats with cirrhosis and ascites and in control rats after the injection in the caudal vein of albumin, saline, or hydroxyethyl starch (HES).

John Paul Roberts – 18 August 2012 – Key Points

Manav Wadhawan, Subash Gupta, Neerav Goyal, Karisangal R. Vasudevan, Kausar Makki, Reetika Dawar, Raman Sardana, Nand Lal, Ajay Kumar – 18 August 2012 – It is believed that antiviral prophylaxis decreases the incidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation and disease. There are few data regarding weekly assays for CMV DNA after transplantation and the subsequent management of CMV. Here we report a cohort of living related liver transplantation (LRLT) patients who were treated for invasive CMV disease or for CMV infections if they were receiving steroids for rejection.

Yuanyuan Guo, Wendie Wang, Jing Wang, Jiannan Feng, Qingyang Wang, Jianfeng Jin, Ming Lv, Xinying Li, Yan Li, Yuanfang Ma, Beifen Shen, Jiyan Zhang – 17 August 2012 – c‐Jun N‐terminal protein kinase (JNK) is a member of the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) superfamily. The activation of JNK is mediated by sequential protein phosphorylation through a MAPK module, namely, MAPK kinase kinase (MAP3K or MEKK) → MAPK kinase (MAP2K or MKK) → MAPK.

Massimiliano Paganelli, Kai Dallmeier, Omar Nyabi, Isabelle Scheers, Benoît Kabamba, Johan Neyts, Patrick Goubau, Mustapha Najimi, Etienne M. Sokal – 17 August 2012 – The role of cell differentiation state on hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication has been well demonstrated, whereas how it determines cell susceptibility to HBV entry is far less understood. We previously showed that umbilical cord matrix stem cells (UCMSC) can be differentiated towards hepatocyte‐like cells in vitro.