Donor polymorphisms of toll‐like receptor 4 associated with graft failure in liver transplant recipients

William S. Oetting, Weihua Guan, David P. Schladt, Robert E. Leduc, Pamala A. Jacobson, Arthur J. Matas, Srinath Chinnakotla, Bernd Schröppel, Barbara T. Murphy, Ajay K. Israni – 15 September 2012 – There have been many reports showing significant associations between recipient genetic variants and allograft outcomes, including acute rejection and graft failure, but less is known about the contribution of the donor genotype.

Factors that affect deceased donor liver transplantation rates in the United States in addition to the model for end‐stage liver disease score

Pratima Sharma, Douglas E. Schaubel, Emily E. Messersmith, Mary K. Guidinger, Robert M. Merion – 11 September 2012 – Under an ideal implementation of Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD)–based liver allocation, the only factors that would predict deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) rates would be the MELD score, blood type, and donation service area (DSA). We aimed to determine whether additional factors are associated with DDLT rates in actual practice.

Declining liver utilization for transplantation in the United States and the impact of donation after cardiac death

Eric S. Orman, A. Sidney Barritt, Stephanie B. Wheeler, Paul H. Hayashi – 11 September 2012 – Worsening donor liver quality resulting in decreased organ utilization may be contributing to the recent decline in liver transplants nationally. We sought to examine trends in donor liver utilization and the relationship between donor characteristics and nonuse. We used the United Network for Organ Sharing database to review all deceased adult organ donors in the United States from whom at least 1 solid organ was transplanted into a recipient. Trends in donor characteristics were examined.

TRAIL but not FasL and TNFα, regulates IL‐33 expression in murine hepatocytes during acute hepatitis

Muhammad Imran Arshad, Claire Piquet‐Pellorce, Annie L'Helgoualc'h, Michel Rauch, Solène Patrat‐Delon, Frédéric Ezan, Catherine Lucas‐Clerc, Sabrina Nabti, Agnès Lehuen, Francisco Javier Cubero, Jean‐Philippe Girard, Christian Trautwein, Michel Samson – 10 September 2012 – Interleukin (IL)‐33, a member of the IL‐1 cytokine family, positively correlates with acute hepatitis and chronic liver failure in mice and humans. IL‐33 is expressed in hepatocytes and is regulated by natural killer T (NKT) cells during concanavalin A (ConA)‐induced acute liver injury.

Impairment of CD4+ cytotoxic T cells predicts poor survival and high recurrence rates in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Junliang Fu, Zheng Zhang, Lin Zhou, Zhaorui Qi, Shaojun Xing, Jiyun Lv, Jianfei Shi, Baoyun Fu, Zhenwen Liu, Ji‐Yuan Zhang, Lei Jin, Yulai Zhao, George K.K. Lau, Jingmin Zhao, Fu‐Sheng Wang – 7 September 2012 – The role of CD4+ cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains obscure. This study characterized CD4+ CTLs in HCC patients and further elucidated the associations between CD4+ CTLs and HCC disease progression. In all, 547 HCC patients, 44 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, 86 liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, and 88 healthy individuals were enrolled in the study.

A novel murine model to deplete hepatic stellate cells uncovers their role in amplifying liver damage in mice

Juan E. Puche, Youngmin A. Lee, Jingjing Jiao, Costica Aloman, Maria I. Fiel, Ursula Muñoz, Thomas Kraus, Tingfang Lee, Hal F. Yee, Scott L. Friedman – 7 September 2012 – We have developed a novel model for depleting mouse hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) that has allowed us to clarify their contributions to hepatic injury and fibrosis. Transgenic (Tg) mice expressing the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene (HSV‐Tk) driven by the mouse GFAP promoter were used to render proliferating HSCs susceptible to killing in response to ganciclovir (GCV).

Disruption of the histidine triad nucleotide‐binding hint2 gene in mice affects glycemic control and mitochondrial function

Juliette Martin, Olivier Maurhofer, Nadège Bellance, Giovanni Benard, Franziska Graber, Dagmar Hahn, Anne Galinier, Caroline Hora, Anirudh Gupta, Gisèle Ferrand, Hans Hoppeler, Rodrigue Rossignol, Jean‐François Dufour, Marie V. St‐Pierre – 7 September 2012 – The histidine triad nucleotide‐binding (HINT2) protein is a mitochondrial adenosine phosphoramidase expressed in the liver and pancreas. Its physiological function is unknown. To elucidate the role of HINT2 in liver physiology, the mouse Hint2 gene was deleted.

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