Kathryn J. Fowler, Jeffrey J. Brown, Vamsi R. Narra – 2 December 2011 – This article is a review of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of incidental focal liver lesions. This review provides an overview of liver MRI protocol, diffusion‐weighted imaging, and contrast agents. Additionally, the most commonly encountered benign and malignant lesions are discussed with emphasis on imaging appearance and the diagnostic performance of MRI based on a review of the literature. (HEPATOLOGY 2011)

Isabelle A. Leclercq, Derrick M. Van Rooyen, Geoffrey C. Farrell – 2 December 2011 – The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the main site of protein and lipid synthesis, membrane biogenesis, xenobiotic detoxification and cellular calcium storage, and perturbation of ER homeostasis leads to stress and the activation of the unfolded protein response. Chronic activation of ER stress has been shown to have an important role in the development of insulin resistance and diabetes in obesity.

Sandra Ciesek, Thomas von Hahn, Che C. Colpitts, Luis M. Schang, Martina Friesland, Jörg Steinmann, Michael P. Manns, Michael Ott, Heiner Wedemeyer, Philip Meuleman, Thomas Pietschmann, Eike Steinmann – 2 December 2011 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Current antiviral therapy fails to clear infection in a substantial proportion of cases. Drug development is focused on nonstructural proteins required for RNA replication. Individuals undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation face rapid, universal reinfection of the graft.

Andrew J. Paris, Zohar Snapir, Cindy D. Christopherson, Shirley Y. Kwok, Ursula E. Lee, Zahra Ghiassi‐Nejad, Peri Kocabayoglu, John J. Sninsky, Josep M. Llovet, Chaim Kahana, Scott L. Friedman – 2 December 2011 – Among several single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that correlate with fibrosis progression in chronic HCV, an SNP in the antizyme inhibitor (AzI) gene is most strongly associated with slow fibrosis progression. Our aim was to identify the mechanism(s) underlying this observation by exploring the impact of the AzI SNP on hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activity.

Salvatore Petta, Daniele Torres, Giovanni Fazio, Calogero Cammà, Daniela Cabibi, Vito Di Marco, Anna Licata, Giulio Marchesini, Alessandra Mazzola, Gaspare Parrinello, Salvatore Novo, Giuseppe Licata, Antonio Craxì – 2 December 2011 – There are contrasting results in studies of cardiovascular risk in patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C (G1 CHC). We evaluated the prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis compared with a control population in order to assess the potential association between atherosclerosis, host and viral factors, and liver histological features.

2 December 2011

Simon Hohenester, Ulrich Beuers – 2 December 2011 – Nuclear hormone receptors regulate diverse metabolic pathways and the orphan nuclear receptor LRH‐1 (also known as NR5A2) regulates bile acid biosynthesis. Structural studies have identified phospholipids as potential LRH‐1 ligands, but their functional relevance is unclear. Here we show that an unusual phosphatidyl‐choline species with two saturated 12 carbon fatty acid acyl side chains (dilauroyl phosphatidylcholine (DLPC)) is an LRH‐1 agonist ligand in vitro.

Chuanghong Wu, Richard Gilroy, Ryan Taylor, Mojtaba Olyaee, Bashar Abdulkarim, Jameson Forster, Maura O'Neil, Ivan Damjanov, Yu‐Jui Yvonne Wan – 2 December 2011 – The current study tests a hypothesis that nuclear receptor signaling is altered in chronic hepatitis C patients and that the altered pattern is specific to alcohol drinking history. The expression of a panel of more than 100 genes encoding nuclear receptors, coregulators, and their direct/indirect targets was studied in human livers.

Tobias J. Weismüller, Gabriele I. Kirchner, Marcus N. Scherer, Ahmed A. Negm, Andreas A. Schnitzbauer, Frank Lehner, Jürgen Klempnauer, Hans J. Schlitt, Michael P. Manns, Christian P. Strassburg – 2 December 2011 – Serum ferritin (SF) concentration is a widely available parameter used to assess iron homeostasis. It has been described as a marker to identify high‐risk patients awaiting liver transplantation (LT) but is also elevated in systemic immune‐mediated diseases, metabolic syndrome, and in hemodialysis where it is associated with an inferior prognosis.

Richard E. Nettles, Min Gao, Marc Bifano, Ellen Chung, Anna Persson, Thomas C. Marbury, Ronald Goldwater, Michael P. DeMicco, Maribel Rodriguez‐Torres, Apinya Vutikullird, Ernesto Fuentes, Eric Lawitz, Juan Carlos Lopez‐Talavera, Dennis M. Grasela – 2 December 2011 – The antiviral activity, resistance profile, pharmacokinetics (PK), safety, and tolerability of BMS‐790052, a nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) replication complex inhibitor, were evaluated in a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, sequential panel, multiple ascending dose study.