Matthias Fuest, Karolina Willim, Sabine MacNelly, Nicole Fellner, Guenter P. Resch, Hubert E. Blum, Peter Hasselblatt – 27 September 2011 – Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress due to accumulation of hepatoviral or misfolded proteins is increasingly recognized as an important step in the pathogenesis of inflammatory, toxic, and metabolic liver diseases. ER stress results in the activation of several intracellular signaling pathways including Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK).

Andreas Schulze, Kerry Mills, Thomas S. Weiss, Stephan Urban – 27 September 2011 – Human hepatitis B virus (HBV) is characterized by a high species specificity and a distinct liver tropism. Within the liver, HBV replication occurs in differentiated and polarized hepatocytes. Accordingly, the in vitro HBV infection of primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) and the human hepatoma cell line, HepaRG, is restricted to differentiated, hepatocyte‐like cells.

Vicente Felipo, Juan F. Ordoño, Amparo Urios, Nisrin El Mlili, Carla Giménez‐Garzó, Carolina Aguado, Olga González‐Lopez, Remedios Giner‐Duran, Miguel A. Serra, Abdallah Wassel, Jose M. Rodrigo, José Salazar, Carmina Montoliu – 27 September 2011 – Attention deficit is an early event in the cognitive impairment of patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). The underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an auditory event‐related potential that reflects an attentional trigger.

Sufen Shang, Amelie Plymoth, Shaokui Ge, Ziding Feng, Hugo R. Rosen, Suleeporn Sangrajrang, Pierre Hainaut, Jorge A. Marrero, Laura Beretta – 27 September 2011 – The aim of this study was to identify a biomarker that could improve alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) performance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance among patients with cirrhosis. We performed proteomic profiling of plasma from patients with cirrhosis or HCC and validated selected candidate HCC biomarkers in two geographically distinct cohorts to include HCC of different etiologies.

Raquel Urtasun, Aritz Lopategi, Joseph George, Tung‐Ming Leung, Yongke Lu, Xiaodong Wang, Xiaodong Ge, Maria Isabel Fiel, Natalia Nieto – 27 September 2011 – A key feature in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis is fibrillar Collagen‐I deposition; yet, mediators that could be key therapeutic targets remain elusive. We hypothesized that osteopontin (OPN), an extracellular matrix (ECM) cytokine expressed in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), could drive fibrogenesis by modulating the HSC pro‐fibrogenic phenotype and Collagen‐I expression.

Nataliya Razumilava, Steve F. Bronk, Rory L. Smoot, Christian D. Fingas, Nathan W. Werneburg, Lewis R. Roberts, Justin L. Mott – 27 September 2011 – It has been established that microRNA expression and function contribute to phenotypic features of malignant cells, including resistance to apoptosis. Although targets and functional roles for a number of microRNAs have been described in cholangiocarcinoma, many additional microRNAs dysregulated in this tumor have not been assigned functional roles.

Ming Hu, Fengming Wang, Xin Li, Christopher Q. Rogers, Xiaomei Liang, Brian N. Finck, Mayurranjan S. Mitra, Ray Zhang, Dave A. Mitchell, Min You – 27 September 2011 – Lipin‐1 is a protein that exhibits dual functions as a phosphatidic acid phosphohydrolase enzyme in the triglyceride synthesis pathways and a transcriptional coregulator. Our previous studies have shown that ethanol causes fatty liver by activation of sterol regulatory element‐binding protein 1 (SREBP‐1) and inhibition of hepatic AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) in mice.

Takeji Umemura, Satoru Joshita, Tetsuya Ichijo, Kaname Yoshizawa, Yoshihiko Katsuyama, Eiji Tanaka, Masao Ota, The Shinshu PBC Study Group – 27 September 2011 – Along with twin and family studies, recent genome‐wide association studies suggest that genetic factors contribute to the susceptibility and severity of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

Sean F. Altekruse, Katherine A. McGlynn, Lois A. Dickie, David E. Kleiner – 27 September 2011 – Approaches to the diagnosis and management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are improving survival. In the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results‐13 registries, HCC stage, histological confirmation, and first‐course surgery were examined. Among 21,390 HCC cases diagnosed with follow‐up of vital status during 1998‐2008, there were 4,727 (22%) with reported first‐course invasive liver surgery, local tumor destruction, or both.

Serge J.L.B. Zweers, Klaske A.C. Booij, Mina Komuta, Tania Roskams, Dirk J. Gouma, Peter L.M. Jansen, Frank G. Schaap – 27 September 2011 – Fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) plays a crucial role in the negative feedback regulation of bile salt synthesis. In the postprandial state, activation of ileal farnesoid X receptor (FXR) by bile salts results in transcriptional induction of FGF19 and elevation of circulating FGF19 levels. An intestinal‐liver axis of FGF19 signaling results in down‐regulation of bile salt synthesis.