Absence of adipose triglyceride lipase protects from hepatic endoplasmic reticulum stress in mice

Claudia D. Fuchs, Thierry Claudel, Pooja Kumari, Guenter Haemmerle, Marion J. Pollheimer, Tatjana Stojakovic, Hubert Scharnagl, Emina Halilbasic, Judith Gumhold, Dagmar Silbert, Harald Koefeler, Michael Trauner – 23 January 2012 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by triglyceride (TG) accumulation and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress.

Transcriptional regulation of methionine adenosyltransferase 2A by peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptors in rat hepatic stellate cells

Komal Ramani, Maria Lauda Tomasi – 23 January 2012 – Methionine adenosyltransferases (MATs) are critical enzymes that catalyze the formation of the methyl donor S‐adenosyl methionine (SAM). The MAT2A gene, which encodes the catalytic subunit α2, is induced in dedifferentiated liver. We previously demonstrated that MAT2A expression is enhanced in activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and that silencing this gene reduces HSC activation. In this study, we examined the molecular mechanisms responsible for the transcriptional regulation of the MAT2A gene in HSCs.

Noninvasive elastography‐based assessment of liver fibrosis progression and prognosis in primary biliary cirrhosis

Christophe Corpechot, Fabrice Carrat, Armelle Poujol‐Robert, Farid Gaouar, Dominique Wendum, Olivier Chazouillères, Raoul Poupon – 23 January 2012 – The development of liver fibrosis markers in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is needed to facilitate the assessment of its progression and the effectiveness of new therapies. Here, we investigated the potential usefulness of transient elastography (TE) in the noninvasive evaluation of liver fibrosis stage and disease progression in PBC.

Pulmonary function in individuals who underwent liver transplantation: From the US cystic fibrosis foundation registry

Melissa R. Miller, Ronald J. Sokol, Michael R. Narkewicz, Marci K. Sontag – 23 January 2012 – Severe liver disease affects 4.5% to 10% of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) and is the third‐leading cause of death. Liver transplantation (LT) is an accepted therapy, but the effects of liver disease and LT on pulmonary function in patients with CF are controversial. Our aim was to characterize changes in pulmonary function in LT patients with CF.

A model for dropout assessment of candidates with or without hepatocellular carcinoma on a common liver transplant waiting list

Christian Toso, Elise Dupuis‐Lozeron, Pietro Majno, Thierry Berney, Norman M. Kneteman, Thomas Perneger, Philippe Morel, Gilles Mentha, Christophe Combescure – 23 January 2012 – In many countries, the allocation of liver grafts is based on the Model of End‐stage Liver Disease (MELD) score and the use of exception points for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). With this strategy, HCC patients have easier access to transplantation than non‐HCC ones.

Cyclin G1–mediated epithelial‐mesenchymal transition via phosphoinositide 3‐kinase/Akt signaling facilitates liver cancer progression

Wen Wen, Jin Ding, Wen Sun, Jing Fu, Yao Chen, Kun Wu, Beifang Ning, Tao Han, Lei Huang, Cheng Chen, Dong Xie, Zhong Li, Gensheng Feng, Mengchao Wu, Weifen Xie, Hongyang Wang – 23 January 2012 – Cyclin G1 deficiency is associated with reduced incidence of carcinogen‐induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its function in HCC progression remains obscure. We report a critical role of cyclin G1 in HCC metastasis. Elevated expression of cyclin G1 was detected in HCCs (60.6%), and its expression levels were even higher in portal vein tumor thrombus.

Impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) preS/S genomic variability on HBV surface antigen and HBV DNA serum levels

Teresa Pollicino, Giuliana Amaddeo, Agnese Restuccia, Giuseppina Raffa, Angela Alibrandi, Giuseppina Cutroneo, Angelo Favaloro, Sergio Maimone, Giovanni Squadrito, Giovanni Raimondo – 23 January 2012 – To evaluate whether hepatitis B virus (HBV) preS/S gene variability has any impact on serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels and to analyze the replication capacity of naturally occurring preS/S variants, sera from 40 untreated patients with HBV‐related chronic liver disease (hepatitis B e antigen [HBeAg]‐positive, n = 11; HBeAg‐negative, n = 29) were virologically characterized.

AP2 adaptor complex mediates bile salt export pump internalization and modulates its hepatocanalicular expression and transport function

Hisamitsu Hayashi, Kaori Inamura, Kensuke Aida, Sotaro Naoi, Reiko Horikawa, Hironori Nagasaka, Tomozumi Takatani, Tamio Fukushima, Asami Hattori, Takashi Yabuki, Ikuo Horii, Yuichi Sugiyama – 19 January 2012 – The bile salt export pump (BSEP) mediates the biliary excretion of bile salts and its dysfunction induces intrahepatic cholestasis. Reduced canalicular expression of BSEP resulting from the promotion of its internalization is one of the causes of this disease state. However, the molecular mechanism underlying BSEP internalization from the canalicular membrane (CM) remains unknown.

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