Lieke M. van der Velden, Misha V. Golynskiy, Ingrid T. G. W. Bijsmans, Saskia W. C. van Mil, Leo W. J. Klomp, Maarten Merkx, Stan F.J. van de Graaf – 17 August 2012 – Bile acids are pivotal for the absorption of dietary lipids and vitamins and function as important signaling molecules in metabolism. Here, we describe a genetically encoded fluorescent bile acid sensor (BAS) that allows for spatiotemporal monitoring of bile acid transport in single living cells.

Akemi Takata, Motoyuki Otsuka, Takeshi Yoshikawa, Takahiro Kishikawa, Yohko Hikiba, Shuntaro Obi, Tadashi Goto, Young Jun Kang, Shin Maeda, Haruhiko Yoshida, Masao Omata, Hiroshi Asahara, Kazuhiko Koike – 17 August 2012 – MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs that regulate the expression of specific target genes. While deregulated miRNA expression levels have been detected in many tumors, whether miRNA functional impairment is also involved in carcinogenesis remains unknown.

Vincent W. Keng, Daniela Sia, Aaron L. Sarver, Barbara R. Tschida, Danhua Fan, Clara Alsinet, Manel Solé, Wai L. Lee, Timothy P. Kuka, Branden S. Moriarity, Augusto Villanueva, Adam J. Dupuy, Jesse D. Riordan, Jason B. Bell, Kevin A. T.Silverstein, Josep M. Llovet, David A. Largaespada – 16 August 2012 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the deadliest solid cancers and is the third leading cause of cancer‐related death. There is a universal estimated male/female ratio of 2.5, but the reason for this is not well understood.

Therese Bittermann, George Makar, David Goldberg – 16 August 2012 – In 2005, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) adopted the Share 15 policy to improve organ allocation by facilitating transplantation for local and regional patients with Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores of 15 or higher. There has been concern that the lack of standardization in the use of exception points is potentially diminishing the benefits of this policy.

Oliver von Kampen, Stephan Buch, Michael Nothnagel, Lorena Azocar, Hector Molina, Mario Brosch, Wiebke Erhart, Witigo von Schönfels, Jan Egberts, Marcus Seeger, Alexander Arlt, Tobias Balschun, Andre Franke, Markus M. Lerch, Julia Mayerle, Wolfgang Kratzer, Bernhard O.

Juan C. Garcia‐Valdecasas – 16 August 2012 – Key Points

Nicholas Fidelman, Aliya Qayyum – 16 August 2012

Jérôme Boursier, Jean‐Pierre Zarski, Victor de Ledinghen, Marie‐Christine Rousselet, Nathalie Sturm, Brigitte Lebail, Isabelle Fouchard‐Hubert, Yves Gallois, Frédéric Oberti, Sandrine Bertrais, Paul Calès, the Multicentric Group from ANRS/HC/EP23 FIBROSTAR Studies – 16 August 2012 – Liver stiffness evaluation (LSE) is usually considered as reliable when it fulfills all the following criteria: ≥10 valid measurements, ≥60% success rate, and interquartile range / median ratio (IQR/M) ≤0.30. However, such reliable LSE have never been shown to be more accurate than unreliable LSE.

Nadine Graubardt, René Fahrner, Markus Trochsler, Adrian Keogh, Karin Breu, Cynthia Furer, Deborah Stroka, Simon C. Robson, Emma Slack, Daniel Candinas, Guido Beldi – 16 August 2012 – Nucleotides, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), are released by cellular injury, bind to purinergic receptors expressed on hepatic parenchymal and nonparenchymal cells, and modulate cellular crosstalk. Liver resection and resulting cellular stress initiate such purinergic signaling responses between hepatocytes and innate immune cells, which regulate and ultimately drive liver regeneration.

Terence N. Bukong, Wei Hou, Karen Kodys, Gyongyi Szabo – 16 August 2012 – Alcohol use and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection synergize to cause liver damage, and microRNA‐122 (miR‐122) appears to play a key role in this process. Argonaute 2 (Ago2), a key component of the RNA‐induced silencing complex (RISC), has been shown to be important in modulating miR‐122 function during HCV infection. However, GW182, a critical component of processing bodies (GW bodies) that is recruited by Ago2 to target messenger RNA (mRNA), has not been assessed in HCV infection.