Laser captured hepatocytes show association of butyrylcholinesterase gene loss and fibrosis progression in hepatitis C‐infected drug users

Supriya Munshaw, Hyon S. Hwang, Michael Torbenson, Jeffrey Quinn, Kasper D. Hansen, Jacquie Astemborski, Shruti H. Mehta, Stuart C. Ray, David L. Thomas, Ashwin Balagopal – 13 February 2012 – Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is complicated by hepatic fibrosis. Hypothesizing that early fibrogenic signals may originate in cells susceptible to HCV infection, hepatocyte gene expression was analyzed from persons with chronic HCV at different stages of liver fibrosis.

Pegylated interferon‐associated retinopathy is frequent in hepatitis C virus patients with hypertension and justifies ophthalmologic screening

Stela Vujosevic, Diego Tempesta, Franco Noventa, Edoardo Midena, Giada Sebastiani – 13 February 2012 – Treatment with pegylated interferon alpha (PegIFNα) and ribavirin is still regarded as the standard of care for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). Retinopathy has been occasionally described but prospective, longitudinal data are lacking. We investigated the frequency and clinical significance of retinopathy during therapy with PegIFNα and ribavirin in 97 consecutive HCV patients. In all, 54 (55.7%) and 43 (44.3%) patients were treated with PegIFNα 2a and PegIFNα 2b, respectively.

Mathematical modeling of liver injury and dysfunction after acetaminophen overdose: Early discrimination between survival and death

Christopher H. Remien, Frederick R. Adler, Lindsey Waddoups, Terry D. Box, Norman L. Sussman – 13 February 2012 – Acetaminophen (APAP) is the leading cause of acute liver injury in the developed world. Timely administration of N‐acetylcysteine (N‐Ac) prevents the progression of serious liver injury and disease, whereas failure to administer N‐Ac within a critical time frame allows disease progression and in the most severe cases may result in liver failure or death. In this situation, liver transplantation may be the only life‐saving measure.

Severe necroinflammatory reaction caused by natural killer cell‐mediated Fas/Fas ligand interaction and dendritic cells in human hepatocyte chimeric mouse

Akihito Okazaki, Nobuhiko Hiraga, Michio Imamura, C. Nelson Hayes, Masataka Tsuge, Shoichi Takahashi, Hiroshi Aikata, Hiromi Abe, Daiki Miki, Hidenori Ochi, Chise Tateno, Katsutoshi Yoshizato, Hideki Ohdan, Kazuaki Chayama – 13 February 2012 – The necroinflammatory reaction plays a central role in hepatitis B virus (HBV) elimination. Cluster of differentiation (CD)8‐positive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are thought to be a main player in the elimination of infected cells, and a recent report suggests that natural killer (NK) cells also play an important role.

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