Elaine Studer, Xiqiao Zhou, Renping Zhao, Yun Wang, Kazuaki Takabe, Masayuki Nagahashi, William M. Pandak, Paul Dent, Sarah Spiegel, Ruihua Shi, Weiren Xu, Xuyuan Liu, Pat Bohdan, Luyong Zhang, Huiping Zhou, Phillip B. Hylemon – 19 September 2011 – Bile acids have been shown to be important regulatory molecules for cells in the liver and gastrointestinal tract. They can activate various cell signaling pathways including extracellular regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and protein kinase B (AKT) as well as the G‐protein–coupled receptor (GPCR) membrane‐type bile acid receptor (TGR5/M‐BAR).

Aijaz Ahmed, Carlos O. Esquivel – 19 September 2011

Stella De Nicola, Alessio Aghemo, Maria Grazia Rumi, Enrico Galmozzi, Luca Valenti, Roberta Soffredini, Raffaele De Francesco, Gian Maria Prati, Roberta D'Ambrosio, Cristina Cheroni, Maria Francesca Donato, Massimo Colombo – 19 September 2011 – Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) near the interleukin 28B (IL28B) region are the strongest baseline predictors of a sustained virologic response (SVR) to peg‐interferon (PegIFN) and ribavirin (Rbv) in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection. Whether this holds true for HCV‐4 patients too is unknown.

Carla Venturi, Javier Bueno, Lluís Castells, Jesus Quintero, Isabel Casas, Helena Allende, Vicente Martinez‐Ibañez, Ramón Charco – 19 September 2011 – The outcomes and characterization of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections after pediatric liver transplantation (LT) have rarely been reported. We describe our experience with HCV infections after pediatric LT. Ten of 207 children (4.8%) who underwent LT at our institution (1985‐2010) developed previously undiagnosed HCV disease. Eight received a liver graft before blood product and donor screening for HCV became available.

Carlos Gomez‐Martin, Javier Bustamante, Javier F. Castroagudin, Magdalena Salcedo, Elena Garralda, Milagros Testillano, Ignacio Herrero, Ana Matilla, Bruno Sangro – 19 September 2011 – There is currently no consensus on the most suitable treatment for the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplantation. This open, multicenter, retrospective, uncontrolled cohort study was designed to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of the combined use of a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor and sorafenib in this setting.

Andrew King, Dhiraj Tripathi – 19 September 2011

Sandra Beinhardt, Albert F. Staettermayer, Karoline Rutter, Judith Maresch, Thomas M. Scherzer, Petra Steindl‐Munda, Harald Hofer, Peter Ferenci – 19 September 2011 – Pegylated interferon‐alpha2/ribavirin (peg‐IFN/RBV) is the standard of care (SOC) for patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection. Currently, direct‐acting antiviral agents (DAAs) are evaluated in clinical trials. The aim of this study was to compare baseline characteristics and sustained virologic response (SVR) rates in patients included in clinical trials to those receiving SOC.

Pierre‐Yves Bochud, Stéphanie Bibert, Zoltán Kutalik, Etienne Patin, Julien Guergnon, Bertrand Nalpas, Nicolas Goossens, Lorenz Kuske, Beat Müllhaupt, Tillman Gerlach, Markus H.

Hiroyoshi Doi, Tara K. Iyer, Erica Carpenter, Hong Li, Kyong‐Mi Chang, Robert H. Vonderheide, David E. Kaplan – 19 September 2011 – Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Both advanced solid tumors and HCV have previously been associated with memory B‐cell dysfunction. In this study, we sought to dissect the effect of viral infection, cirrhosis, and liver cancer on memory B‐cell frequency and function in the spectrum of HCV disease.

Fanyin Meng, Heather Francis, Shannon Glaser, Yuyan Han, Sharon DeMorrow, Allison Stokes, Dustin Staloch, Julie Venter, Melanie White, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Lola M. Reid, Gianfranco Alpini – 19 September 2011 – Functional pluripotent characteristics have been observed in specific subpopulations of hepatic cells that express some of the known cholangiocyte markers.