Patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy show impaired mismatch negativity correlating with reduced performance in attention tests

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.

Hepatocyte polarization is essential for the productive entry of the hepatitis B virus

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.

The transcription factor c‐Jun protects against sustained hepatic endoplasmic reticulum stress thereby promoting hepatocyte survival

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).

Translationally controlled tumor protein induces mitotic defects and chromosome missegregation in hepatocellular carcinoma development

Tim Hon Man Chan, Leilei Chen, Ming Liu, Liang Hu, Bo‐jian Zheng, Vincent Kwok‐Man Poon, Pinzhu Huang, Yun‐Fei Yuan, Jian‐dong Huang, Jie Yang, George Sai‐wah Tsao, Xin‐Yuan Guan – 27 September 2011 – Emerging evidence implicates the chromodomain helicase/ATPase DNA binding protein 1–like gene (CHD1L) as a specific oncogene in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

A mouse model of accelerated liver aging caused by a defect in DNA repair

Siobhán Q. Gregg, Verónica Gutiérrez, Andria Rasile Robinson, Tyler Woodell, Atsunori Nakao, Mark A. Ross, George K. Michalopoulos, Lora Rigatti, Carrie E. Rothermel, Irene Kamileri, George A. Garinis, Donna Beer Stolz, Laura J. Niedernhofer – 27 September 2011 – The liver changes with age, leading to an impaired ability to respond to hepatic insults and increased incidence of liver disease in the elderly. Therefore, there is critical need for rapid model systems to study aging‐related liver changes.

“Normal” liver stiffness measure (LSM) values are higher in both lean and obese individuals: A population‐based study from a developing country

Kausik Das, Rajib Sarkar, Sk. Mahiuddin Ahmed, Asit R. Mridha, Partha S. Mukherjee, Kshaunish Das, Gopal K. Dhali, Amal Santra, Abhijit Chowdhury – 27 September 2011 – The liver stiffness measure (LSM) needs to be explored in ethnically and anthropometrically diverse healthy subjects (to derive an acceptable normal range) and also in patients with liver disease.

A Human monoclonal antibody targeting scavenger receptor class B type I precludes hepatitis C virus infection and viral spread in vitro and in vivo

Philip Meuleman, Maria Teresa Catanese, Lieven Verhoye, Isabelle Desombere, Ali Farhoudi, Christopher T. Jones, Timothy Sheahan, Katarzyna Grzyb, Riccardo Cortese, Charles M. Rice, Geert Leroux‐Roels, Alfredo Nicosia – 27 September 2011 – Endstage liver disease caused by chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the leading indication for liver transplantation in the Western world. However, immediate reinfection of the grafted donor liver by circulating virus is inevitable and liver disease progresses much faster than the original disease.

Serum ferritin is an independent predictor of histologic severity and advanced fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Kris V. Kowdley, Patricia Belt, Laura A. Wilson, Matthew M. Yeh, Brent A. Neuschwander‐Tetri, Naga Chalasani, Arun J. Sanyal, James E. Nelson, for the NASH Clinical Research Network. – 27 September 2011 – Serum ferritin (SF) levels are commonly elevated in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) because of systemic inflammation, increased iron stores, or both. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between elevated SF and NAFLD severity.

Successful isolation of liver progenitor cells by aldehyde dehydrogenase activity in naïve mice

Laurent Dollé, Jan Best, Christophe Empsen, Jie Mei, Elke Van Rossen, Philip Roelandt, Sarah Snykers, Mustapha Najimi, Feras Al Battah, Neil D. Theise, Konrad Streetz, Etienne Sokal, Isabelle A. Leclercq, Catherine Verfaillie, Vera Rogiers, Albert Geerts, Leo A. van Grunsven – 27 September 2011 – The role of progenitor cells in liver repair and fibrosis has been extensively described, but their purification remains a challenge, hampering their characterization and use in regenerative medicine.

Subscribe to