Nicole T. do O, Dennis Eurich, Christian Trautwein, Peter Neuhaus, Ulf P. Neumann, Hermann E. Wasmuth – 11 July 2011

Haeryoung Kim, Gi Hong Choi, Deuk Chae Na, Ei Young Ahn, Gwang Il Kim, Jae Eun Lee, Jai Young Cho, Jeong Eun Yoo, Jin Sub Choi, Young Nyun Park – 11 July 2011 – There is a recently proposed subtype of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that is histologically similar to usual HCC, but characterized by the expression of “stemness”‐related markers. A large‐scale study on two different cohorts of HCCs was performed to investigate the clinicopathologic features and epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT)‐related protein expression status of this subtype of HCCs.

Yeonghwan Kim, Miran Jang, Sangbin Lim, Hyeran Won, Kyung‐Sik Yoon, Jae‐Hoon Park, Hyo Jong Kim, Byung‐Ho Kim, Won‐Sang Park, Joohun Ha, Sung‐Soo Kim – 11 July 2011 – Cyclophilin B (CypB) performs diverse roles in living cells, but its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is largely unclear. To reveal its role in HCC, we investigated the induction of CypB under hypoxia and its functions in tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. Here, we demonstrated that hypoxia‐inducible factor 1α (HIF‐1α) induces CypB under hypoxia.

Xiaodong Wang, Defeng Wu, Lili Yang, Arthur I. Cederbaum – 11 July 2011 – Cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) induction and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) production are key risk factors in alcoholic liver injury. Increased oxidative stress from CYP2E1 induction by pyrazole in vivo sensitizes the liver to TNF‐α‐induced hepatotoxicity by a mechanism involving the activation of c‐jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) and mitochondrial damage. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether JNK1 or JNK2 plays a role in this potentiated hepatotoxicity.

Claudia O. Zein, Lisa M. Yerian, Prema Gogate, Rocio Lopez, John P. Kirwan, Ariel E. Feldstein, Arthur J. McCullough – 11 July 2011 – The primary aim of this study was to compare the effects of pentoxifylline (PTX) versus placebo on the histological features of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In all, 55 adults with biopsy‐confirmed NASH were randomized to receive PTX at a dose of 400 mg three times a day (n = 26) or placebo (n = 29) over 1 year.

Richard B. Freeman – 11 July 2011

Paige Porrett, Abraham Shaked – 11 July 2011 – Key Points

Danny Ka Ho Wong, Fung Yu Huang, Ching Lung Lai, Ronnie Tung Ping Poon, Wai Kay Seto, James Fung, Ivan Fan Ngai Hung, Man Fung Yuen – 11 July 2011 – We aimed to investigate the incidence of occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) in patients with “cryptogenic” hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to study the HBV replicative activity in these patients. Tumorous and adjacent nontumorous liver tissues were obtained from 33 cryptogenic HCC patients and 28 HCC patients with identifiable causes (13 with chronic hepatitis B [CHB], six with chronic hepatitis C, and nine alcohol‐related).

Lucy Golden‐Mason, Kiran M. Bambha, Linling Cheng, Charles D. Howell, Milton W. Taylor, Paul J. Clark, Nezam Afdhal, Hugo R. Rosen, on behalf of the Virahep‐C Study Group – 11 July 2011 – Natural killer (NK) cells constitute a first line of defense against viral infections; their function is governed by the integration of signals from multiple activating and inhibitory surface receptors. We hypothesized that because NKs become rapidly activated by cytokines, response to anti‐hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy would be predicted by the phenotype and function of NKs.

Hsin‐Yun Sun, Thomas V. Cacciarelli, Marilyn M. Wagener, Nina Singh – 8 July 2011 – Whether the duration of renal replacement therapy (RRT) after liver transplantation influences the rate and types of bacterial infections is not known. In this study, 47 of 299 consecutive liver transplant recipients (16%) required posttransplant RRT. The incidence of bacterial infections was higher in the RRT group versus the non‐RRT group (8.84 versus 1.38 per 1000 patient days, P < 0.001).