Hepatitis E

Rakesh Aggarwal, Shahid Jameel – 2 December 2011 – Hepatitis E refers to liver disease caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV), a small, nonenveloped virus with a single‐stranded RNA genome. The virus has four genotypes, but only one serotype. Genotypes 1 and 2 exclusively infect humans, whereas genotypes 3 and 4 also infect pigs and several other mammalian species. Though HEV does not grow well in cell culture, several aspects of its biology and pathogenesis have been worked out using animal models and cell transfection studies, and by analogy with other related viruses.

Methionine adenosyltransferase 1A gene deletion disrupts hepatic very low‐density lipoprotein assembly in mice

Ainara Cano, Xabier Buqué, Maite Martínez‐Uña, Igor Aurrekoetxea, Ariane Menor, Juan L. García‐Rodríguez, Shelly C. Lu, M. Luz Martínez‐Chantar, José M. Mato, Begoña Ochoa, Patricia Aspichueta – 2 December 2011 – Very low‐density lipoprotein (VLDL) secretion provides a mechanism to export triglycerides (TG) from the liver to peripheral tissues, maintaining lipid homeostasis. In nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), VLDL secretion disturbances are unclear.

Ribavirin pharmacokinetics and interleukin 28B plus cytochrome P450 27B1 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms as predictors of response to pegylated interferon/ribavirin treatment in patients infected with hepatitis C virus genotype 1/4

Antonio D'Avolio, Alessia Ciancio, Marco Siccardi, Lorena Baietto, Marco Simiele, Giuseppe Cariti, Andrea Calcagno, Antonina Smedile, Jessica Cusato, Stefano Bonora, Mario Rizzetto, Giovanni Di Perri – 2 December 2011

Activation of liver X receptor increases acetaminophen clearance and prevents its toxicity in mice

Simrat P.S. Saini, Bin Zhang, Yongdong Niu, Mengxi Jiang, Jie Gao, Yonggong Zhai, Jung Hoon Lee, Hirdesh Uppal, Hui Tian, Michael A. Tortorici, Samuel M. Poloyac, Wenxin Qin, Raman Venkataramanan, Wen Xie – 2 December 2011 – Overdose of acetaminophen (APAP), the active ingredient of Tylenol, is the leading cause of drug‐induced acute liver failure in the United States. As such, it is necessary to develop novel strategies to prevent or manage APAP toxicity. In this report, we reveal a novel function of the liver X receptor (LXR) in preventing APAP‐induced hepatotoxicity.

Infiltrating monocytes versus resident kupffer cells: Do alternatively activated macrophages need to be targeted alternatively?

Frank Tacke, Christian Kurts – 2 December 2011 – A defining feature of inflammation is the accumulation of innate immune cells in the tissue that are thought to be recruited from the blood. We reveal that a distinct process exists in which tissue macrophages undergo rapid in situ proliferation in order to increase population density.

The cyclophilin inhibitor alisporivir prevents hepatitis C virus–mediated mitochondrial dysfunction

Giovanni Quarato, Annamaria D'Aprile, Bruno Gavillet, Grégoire Vuagniaux, Darius Moradpour, Nazzareno Capitanio, Claudia Piccoli – 2 December 2011 – Alisporivir (Debio‐025) is an analogue of cyclosporine A and represents the prototype of a new class of non‐immunosuppressive cyclophilin inhibitors. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that alisporivir inhibits hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication, and ongoing clinical trials are exploring its therapeutic potential in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

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