Sharon W. Kwan, Nicholas Fidelman, Elizabeth Ma, Robert K. Kerlan, Francis Y. Yao – 17 February 2012 – Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is one of the standard therapies for bridging patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to transplantation. This study was designed to determine which features on pre‐ and post‐TACE imaging are associated with tumor necrosis in pathological specimens. Records of 105 patients with 132 HCC lesions who underwent liver transplantation after TACE were retrospectively reviewed. In 70% of the nodules, >90% necrosis was achieved.

Neha A. Deshpande, Nathan T. James, Lauren M. Kucirka, Brian J. Boyarsky, Jacqueline M. Garonzik‐Wang, Andrew M. Cameron, Andrew L. Singer, Nabil N. Dagher, Dorry L. Segev – 17 February 2012 – Approximately 14,000 women of reproductive age are currently living in the United States after liver transplantation (LT), and another 500 undergo LT each year. Although LT improves reproductive function in women with advanced liver disease, the associated pregnancy outcomes and maternal‐fetal risks have not been quantified in a broad manner.

Emily M. Fredericks, Dawn Dore‐Stites, Sheyla Y. Calderon, Andrew Well, Sally J. Eder, John C. Magee, M. James Lopez – 17 February 2012 – Among adult liver transplant recipients (LTRs), sleep disturbances and fatigue are common. Sleep problems following pediatric liver transplantation may contribute to daytime fatigue and lower health‐related quality of life (HRQOL). The aim of this cross‐sectional study was to determine the impact of sleep problems on the HRQOL of pediatric LTRs using validated measures. Participants included 47 LTRs.

Andrew C. Nelson, Jose Jessurun, Randolph K. Peterson, Stefan E. Pambuccian – 17 February 2012

Régine Truchi, Eve Gelsi, Faredj Cherikh, Albert Tran, Patrice Couzigou – 15 February 2012

Stephen A. Harrison, Fayez M. Hamzeh, Jian Han, Prashant K. Pandya, Muhammed Y. Sheikh, John M. Vierling – 15 February 2012 – Patients with chronic hepatitis C and insulin resistance are less likely to respond to anti‐hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy and are at risk for more rapid fibrosis progression. Coadministration of pioglitazone with peginterferon/ribavirin improves insulin sensitivity and increases virologic response rates in insulin‐resistant HCV genotype 4 patients, but it is unclear whether this finding applies to genotype 1 patients.

Celine S. Lages, Julia Simmons, Claire A. Chougnet, Alexander G. Miethke – 15 February 2012 – CD8 T‐lymphocytes are effector cells of cholangiocyte injury in human and in rhesus rotavirus (RRV)‐induced experimental biliary atresia (BA). Here we hypothesize that neonatal deficiency in CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) leads to aberrant activation of hepatic T‐lymphocytes in BA.

John D. Ryan, Sandro Altamura, Emma Devitt, Sarah Mullins, Matthew W. Lawless, Martina U. Muckenthaler, John Crowe – 15 February 2012 – Pegylated interferon‐α (PEG‐IFN‐α) forms an integral part of the current treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. PEG‐IFN‐α suppresses HCV production by augmenting the innate antiviral immune response. Recent studies have reported the induction of hepcidin, the iron regulatory hormone, by IFN‐α in vitro.

Shufeng Liu, Kevin D. McCormick, Wentao Zhao, Ting Zhao, Daping Fan, Tianyi Wang – 15 February 2012 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry is a multiple‐step process involving a number of host factors and hence represents a promising target for new antiviral drug development. In search of novel inhibitors of HCV infection, we found that a human apolipoprotein E (apoE) peptide, hEP, containing both a receptor binding fragment and a lipid binding fragment of apoE specifically blocked the entry of cell culture grown HCV (HCVcc) at submicromolar concentrations.

Natalia Freitas, Jessica Salisse, Celso Cunha, Ilia Toshkov, Stephan Menne, Severin O. Gudima – 15 February 2012 – Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a natural subviral agent of human hepatitis B virus (HBV). HDV enhances liver damage during concomitant infection with HBV. The molecular pathogenesis of HDV infection remains poorly understood. To advance our understanding of the relationship between HDV infection and liver cancer, it was determined whether HDV could infect in vivo the cells of hepadnavirus‐induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).