Norah Terrault, Burc Barin, Peter Stock – 6 April 2012

Leonhard Stross, Johannes Günther, Georg Gasteiger, Theresa Asen, Stefanie Graf, Michaela Aichler, Irene Esposito, Dirk H. Busch, Percy Knolle, Tim Sparwasser, Ulrike Protzer – 6 April 2012 – The strength of antiviral T cell responses correlates with clearance of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, but the immunological mechanisms mitigating or suppressing HBV‐specific T cells are still poorly understood. In this study, we examined the role of CD4+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in a mouse model of acute HBV infection.

Jiang Liu, Pravin R. Jadhav, Shashi Amur, Russell Fleischer, Thomas Hammerstrom, Linda Lewis, Lisa Naeger, Jule O'Rear, Michael Pacanowski, Sarah Robertson, Shirley Seo, Greg Soon, Debra Birnkrant – 6 April 2012 – The purpose of this report is to illustrate the US Food and Drug Administration's rationale for approving response‐guided therapy (RGT) for telaprevir (TVR) in combination with pegylated interferon‐α and ribavirin (P/R) for the treatment of adults with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C who were prior relapsers.

Wei‐Dong Chen, Xianghui Fu, Bingning Dong, Yan‐Dong Wang, Steven Shiah, David D. Moore, Wendong Huang – 6 April 2012 – Aberrant epigenetic alterations during development may result in long‐term epigenetic memory and have a permanent effect on the health of subjects. Constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) is a central regulator of drug/xenobiotic metabolism. Here, we report that transient neonatal activation of CAR results in epigenetic memory and a permanent change of liver drug metabolism.

Takuya Matsumura, Takanobu Kato, Nao Sugiyama, Megumi Tasaka‐Fujita, Asako Murayama, Takahiro Masaki, Takaji Wakita, Michio Imawari – 6 April 2012 – Because the current interferon (IFN)‐based treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has a therapeutic limitation and side effects, a more efficient therapeutic strategy is desired. Recent studies show that supplementation of vitamin D significantly improves sustained viral response via IFN‐based therapy. However, mechanisms and an active molecular form of vitamin D for its anti‐HCV effects have not been fully clarified.

James Pritchett, Emma Harvey, Varinder Athwal, Andrew Berry, Cliff Rowe, Fiona Oakley, Anna Moles, Derek A. Mann, Nicoletta Bobola, Andrew D. Sharrocks, Brian J. Thomson, Abed M. Zaitoun, William L. Irving, Indra N. Guha, Neil A. Hanley, Karen Piper Hanley – 5 April 2012 – Osteopontin (OPN) is an important component of the extracellular matrix (ECM), which promotes liver fibrosis and has been described as a biomarker for its severity.

Chunyue Yin, Kimberley J. Evason, Jacquelyn J. Maher, Didier Y.R. Stainier – 5 April 2012 – Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are liver‐specific mesenchymal cells that play vital roles in liver development and injury. Our knowledge of HSC biology is limited by the paucity of in vivo data. HSCs and sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) reside in close proximity, and interactions between these two cell types are potentially critical for their development and function. Here, we introduce a transgenic zebrafish line, Tg(hand2:EGFP), that labels HSCs.

Harpreet K. Dhaliwal, Rory Anderson, Elizabeth L. Thornhill, Sarah Schneider, Elaine McFarlane, Dermot Gleeson, Lynne Lennard – 5 April 2012 – Azathioprine (AZA) is used to maintain remission in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), but up to 18% of patients are unresponsive. AZA is a prodrug, and the formation of active thioguanine nucleotide (TGN) metabolites varies widely.

Hironori Ochi, Masashi Hirooka, Yohei Koizumi, Teruki Miyake, Yoshio Tokumoto, Yoshiko Soga, Fujimasa Tada, Masanori Abe, Yoichi Hiasa, Morikazu Onji – 5 April 2012 – The aim of this study was to prospectively measure liver stiffness with real‐time tissue elastography in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD) and to compare the result with the clinical assessment of fibrosis using histological stage.

Marcia Russell, Mary Patricia Pauly, Charles Denton Moore, Constance Chia, Jennifer Dorrell, Renee J. Cunanan, Gayle Witt, Scott Martin – 5 April 2012 – Treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection (HCV+) has historically been shown to be less effective in patients with a heavy drinking history. The effect of moderate and heavy alcohol use on treatment with pegylated interferon‐alpha and ribavirin (P/R) in an insured household population has not been previously reported.