Irani Khatun, Sebastian Zeissig, Jahangir Iqbal, Minghui Wang, David Curiel, Gregory S. Shelness, Richard S. Blumberg, M.Mahmood Hussain – 26 November 2011 – Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP), essential for apolipoprotein B (apoB) biosynthesis, evolved as a phospholipid transfer protein and acquired triglyceride transfer activity during a transition from invertebrates to vertebrates. But it is unknown whether MTP directly transfers lipids onto apoB in vivo and, if it does, whether both neutral and polar lipid transfer activities of MTP are critical for lipoprotein assembly.

Young Chul Kim, Mi‐Suk Park – 26 November 2011

Young Chul Kim, Mi‐Suk Park – 26 November 2011

Jeremy S. Duffield – 26 November 2011

Liping Liu, Govardhana Rao Yannam, Taichiro Nishikawa, Toshiyuki Yamamoto, Hesham Basma, Ryotaro Ito, Masaki Nagaya, Joyeeta Dutta‐Moscato, Donna B. Stolz, Fenghai Duan, Klaus H. Kaestner, Yoram Vodovotz, Alejandro Soto‐Gutierrez, Ira J. Fox – 23 November 2011 – In advanced cirrhosis, impaired function is caused by intrinsic damage to the native liver cells and from the abnormal microenvironment in which the cells reside. The extent to which each plays a role in liver failure and regeneration is unknown.

Seanthan Senthilnathan, Khairuddin Memon, Robert J. Lewandowski, Laura Kulik, Mary F. Mulcahy, Ahsun Riaz, Frank H. Miller, Vahid Yaghmai, Paul Nikolaidis, Edward Wang, Talia Baker, Michael Abecassis, Al B. Benson, Reed A. Omary, Riad Salem – 23 November 2011 – Although most cancers are considered predominantly systemic processes, this may not hold true for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The literature regarding patterns of progression of HCC (local versus systemic) has been relatively sparse.

Katrin Neumann, Nils Kruse, Balint Szilagyi, Ulrike Erben, Christine Rudolph, Anne Flach, Martin Zeitz, Alf Hamann, Katja Klugewitz – 23 November 2011 – Gut‐activated T cells migrating into the liver can cause extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease. T cells acquire a gut‐homing phenotype dependent on retinoic acid (RA) provided by intestinal dendritic cells (DC). We investigated whether liver antigen‐presenting cells can induce gut tropism supporting an enterohepatic lymphocyte circulation.

Supatsri Sethasine, Dhanpat Jain, Roberto J. Groszmann, Guadalupe Garcia‐Tsao – 23 November 2011 – We have previously shown, in a semiquantitative analysis of liver biopsies showing cirrhosis, that thickness of fibrous septa separating cirrhotic nodules and small size of cirrhotic nodules correlated independently with portal pressure (as determined by the hepatic venous pressure gradient; HVPG) and were independent predictors of the presence of clinically significant portal hypertension (PH).

Kris V. Kowdley, Chia C. Wang, Sue Welch, Henry Roberts, Carol L. Brosgart – 22 November 2011 – Estimates of the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in the United States differ significantly, and the contribution of foreign‐born (FB) persons has not been adequately described. The aim of this study was to estimate the number of FB persons in the United States living with CHB by their country of origin. We performed a systematic review for reports of HBsAg seroprevalence rates in 102 countries (covering PubMed from 1980 to July 2010).

Saifeng Wang, Lipeng Qiu, Xiaoli Yan, Wensong Jin, Yanzhong Wang, Lizhao Chen, Erjie Wu, Xin Ye, George F. Gao, Fusheng Wang, Yu Chen, Zhongping Duan, Songdong Meng – 22 November 2011 – Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes chronic infection in about 350 million people worldwide. Given the important role of the most abundant liver‐specific microRNA, miR‐122, in hepatic function and liver pathology, here we investigated the potential role and mechanism of miR‐122 in regulating HBV replication.