The impaired immune regulation of autoimmune hepatitis is linked to a defective galectin‐9/tim‐3 pathway

Rodrigo Liberal, Charlotte R. Grant, Beth S. Holder, Yun Ma, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Diego Vergani, Maria Serena Longhi – 28 February 2012 – In autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), liver‐damaging CD4 T cell responses are associated with defective CD4posCD25pos regulatory T cells (T‐regs). Galectin‐9 (Gal9), a β‐galactosidase–binding protein expressed by T‐regs, is key to their function, inhibiting T helper 1 immune responses by binding T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (Tim‐3) on CD4 effector cells.

Liver phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) expression with a PLTP‐null background promotes very low‐density lipoprotein production in mice

Amirfarbod Yazdanyar, Xian‐Cheng Jiang – 24 February 2012 – It is known that plasma phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) activity influences lipoprotein metabolism. The liver is one of the major sites of lipoprotein production and degradation, as well as of PLTP expression. To address the impact of liver‐expressed PLTP on lipoprotein metabolism, we created a mouse model that expresses PLTP in the liver acutely and specifically, with a PLTP‐null background. This approach in mouse model preparations can also be used universally for evaluating the function of many other genes in the liver.

Mesenchymal stem cells administered after liver transplantation prevent acute graft‐versus‐host disease in rats

Xuefeng Xia, Wei Chen, Tao Ma, Guodong Xu, Hao Liu, Chao Liang, Xueli Bai, Yun Zhang, Yong He, Tingbo Liang – 17 February 2012 – Acute graft‐versus‐host disease is a serious and life‐threatening complication of liver transplantation (LT) that occurs in 1% to 2% of liver allograft recipients. It is associated with a high mortality rate, and effective therapies are lacking. In our established rat model, a relative decrease in regulatory T cells (Tregs) was previously shown to be associated with acute graft‐versus‐host disease after liver transplantation (LT‐aGVHD).

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