Tracing hepatitis B virus to the 16th century in a Korean mummy

Gila Kahila Bar‐Gal, Myeung Ju Kim, Athalia Klein, Dong Hoon Shin, Chang Seok Oh, Jong Wan Kim, Tae‐Hyun Kim, Seok Bae Kim, Paul R. Grant, Orit Pappo, Mark Spigelman, Daniel Shouval – 21 May 2012 – A rare find of a mummified child from the 16th century AD, in Korea, with relatively preserved organs, enabled a search for ancient hepatitis B virus (aHBV) DNA sequences from laparoscopic‐derived liver biopsies.

Megakaryocytes promote hepatoepithelial liver cell development in E11.5 mouse embryos by cell‐to‐cell contact and by vascular endothelial growth factor A signaling

Natalia Serrano, Isabel Cortegano, Carolina Ruiz, Mario Alía, Belén de Andrés, María Teresa Rejas, Miguel A.R. Marcos, María Luisa Gaspar – 21 May 2012 – In the mouse embryo, hematopoietic progenitor cells migrate to the fetal liver (FL) between gestational days (E) 9.5 and 10.5, where they rapidly expand to form the main fetal reservoir of hematopoietic cells. The embryonic megakaryocyte progenitors (MKPs) in the E11.5 FL were identified as CD49fHCD41H (and c‐KitDKDR+CD42+CD9++CD31+) cells, expressing several hepato‐specific proteins.

Rare inborn errors associated with chronic hepatitis B virus infection*

Qiang Zhao, Liang Peng, Weijun Huang, Qibin Li, Yuanyuan Pei, Ping Yuan, Lingyan Zheng, Yongling Zhang, Jia Deng, Cheng Zhong, Bin Hu, Hongke Ding, Wei Fang, Ru Li, Qijun Liao, Chaoshuang Lin, Weiping Deng, Huijun Yan, Jinghui Hou, Qiuliang Wu, Tingting Xu, Jinsong Liu, Longbo Hu, Tao Peng, Suqing Chen, Kar N. Lai, Man‐Fung Yuen, Yue Wang, Mala K. Maini, Caixia Li, Miaoxin Li, Jian Wang, Xiuqing Zhang, Pak‐Chung Sham, Jun Wang, Zhi‐Liang Gao, Yiming Wang – 18 May 2012 – Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a major global health issue.

The centrosomal protein tax1 binding protein 2 is a novel tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma regulated by cyclin‐dependent kinase 2

Wai‐Lung Lai, Wing‐Yan Hung, Leo Lap‐Yan Wong, Yuan Zhou, Veronica Yee‐Law Leong, Joyce Man‐Fong Lee, Irene Oi‐Lin Ng, Dong‐Yan Jin, Yick‐Pang Ching – 18 May 2012 – Deregulation of cellular‐signaling pathways by the inactivation of tumor‐suppressor genes is one of the major causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we identified Tax1 binding protein 2 (TAX1BP2) as a novel tumor‐suppressor gene in HCC.

Droxidopa, an oral norepinephrine precursor, improves hemodynamic and renal alterations of portal hypertensive rats

Mar Coll, Sarai Rodriguez, Imma Raurell, Nahia Ezkurdia, Astrid Brull, Salvador Augustin, Jaime Guardia, Rafael Esteban, María Martell, Joan Genescà – 18 May 2012 – We aimed to evaluate the effects of droxidopa (an oral synthetic precursor of norepinephrine) on the hemodynamic and renal alterations of portal hypertensive rats. Sham, portal vein‐ligated (PVL), and 4‐week biliary duct‐ligated (BDL) rats received a single oral dose of droxidopa (25‐50 mg/kg) or vehicle and hemodynamic parameters were monitored for 2 hours.

Impact of disease severity on healthcare costs in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) virus infection

Stuart C. Gordon, Paul J. Pockros, Norah A. Terrault, Robert S. Hoop, Ami Buikema, David Nerenz, Fayez M. Hamzeh – 18 May 2012 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection increases total healthcare costs but the effect of the severity of liver disease associated with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) on healthcare costs has not been well studied. We analyzed the demographics, healthcare utilization, and healthcare costs of CHC patients in a large U.S. private insurance database (January, 2002 to August, 2010), with at least 1 year of baseline enrollment and 30 days of continuous follow‐up.

Hepatitis C virus‐induced up‐regulation of microRNA‐155 promotes hepatocarcinogenesis by activating Wnt signaling

Yiliang Zhang, Wei Wei, Na Cheng, Kaihui Wang, Bin Li, Xiaoqing Jiang, Shuhan Sun – 18 May 2012 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection usually induces chronic hepatic inflammation, which favors the initiation and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Moreover, microRNA‐155 (miR‐155) plays an important role in regulating both inflammation and tumorigenesis. However, little is known about whether and how miR‐155 provides the link between inflammation and cancer. In this study we found that miR‐155 levels were markedly increased in patients infected with HCV.

Boceprevir dosing for late responders and null responders: The role of bridging data between treatment‐naïve and ‐experienced subjects

Jeffry Florian, Pravin R. Jadhav, Shashi Amur, Ruben Ayala, Patrick Harrington, Poonam Mishra, Jules O'Rear, Michael Pacanowski, Sarah Robertson, Mary Singer, Greg Soon, Wen Zeng, Jeffrey Murray – 18 May 2012

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