Ji‐Hua Shi, Henrik S. Huitfeldt, Zhen‐He Suo, Pål‐Dag Line – 3 May 2011 – Liver resection and liver transplantation are the treatment modalities with the greatest potential for curing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Tumor recurrence after resection for HCC is, however, a major problem, and an increased rate of recurrence after living donor transplantation versus cadaveric whole liver transplantation has been suggested. Factors involved in liver regeneration may stimulate the growth of occult tumors.

Ekaterina Y. Shishova, Janis M. Stoll, Baran A. Ersoy, Sudeep Shrestha, Erez F. Scapa, Yingxia Li, Michele W. Niepel, Ya Su, Linda A. Jelicks, Gregory L. Stahl, Marcie A. Glicksman, Roger Gutierrez‐Juarez, Gregory D. Cuny, David E. Cohen – 29 April 2011 – Phosphatidylcholine transfer protein (PC‐TP, synonym StARD2) is a highly specific intracellular lipid binding protein that is enriched in liver. Coding region polymorphisms in both humans and mice appear to confer protection against measures of insulin resistance.

Sonya V. Iverson, Kristin M. Comstock, Jean A. Kundert, Edward E. Schmidt – 29 April 2011 – The contributions that de novo differentiation of new hepatocyte lineages makes to normal liver physiology are unknown. In this study, a system that uniquely marks cells during a finite period following primary activation of a serum albumin gene promoter/enhancer‐driven Cre recombinase (albCre) transgene was used to investigate birthrates of new hepatocyte lineages from albumin (Alb)‐naive precursors in mice.

Ayca Cinaroglu, Chuan Gao, Dru Imrie, Kirsten C. Sadler – 29 April 2011 – Many etiologies of fatty liver disease (FLD) are associated with the hyperactivation of one of the three pathways composing the unfolded protein response (UPR), which is a harbinger of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. The UPR is mediated by pathways initiated by PRKR‐like endoplasmic reticulum kinase, inositol‐requiring 1A/X box binding protein 1, and activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), and each of these pathways has been implicated to have a protective or pathological role in FLD.

Lisa Franceschini, Stefano Realdon, Moira Marcolongo, Silvia Mirandola, Gladis Bortoletto, Alfredo Alberti – 29 April 2011 – Insulin resistance (IR) is common in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and associates with reduced virological response to pegylated‐interferon (PEG‐IFN)/ribavirin therapy, but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. We have previously shown that, in CHC patients, insulin plasma levels are inversely related to antiviral effect induced by PEG‐IFN.

Mohsan Saeed, Masaaki Shiina, Tomoko Date, Daisuke Akazawa, Noriyuki Watanabe, Asako Murayama, Tetsuro Suzuki, Haruo Watanabe, Nobuhiko Hiraga, Michio Imamura, Kazuaki Chayama, Youkyung Choi, Krzysztof Krawczynski, T. Jake Liang, Takaji Wakita, Takanobu Kato – 29 April 2011 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) employs various strategies to establish persistent infection that can cause chronic liver disease.

Gin‐Ho Lo – 29 April 2011

Aijuan Qu, Matthew Taylor, Xiang Xue, Tsutomu Matsubara, Daniel Metzger, Pierre Chambon, Frank J. Gonzalez, Yatrik M. Shah – 29 April 2011 – Oxygen dynamics in the liver is a central signaling mediator controlling hepatic homeostasis, and dysregulation of cellular oxygen is associated with liver injury. Moreover, the transcription factor relaying changes in cellular oxygen levels, hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF), is critical in liver metabolism, and sustained increase in HIF signaling can lead to spontaneous steatosis, inflammation, and liver tumorigenesis.

Tania M. Welzel, Barry I. Graubard, Stefan Zeuzem, Hashem B. El‐Serag, Jessica A. Davila, Katherine A. McGlynn – 29 April 2011 – Incidence rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) have increased in the United States. Metabolic syndrome is recognized as a risk factor for HCC and a postulated one for ICC. The magnitude of risk, however, has not been investigated on a population level in the United States. We therefore examined the association between metabolic syndrome and the development of these cancers.

Ruchi Bansal, Jai Prakash, Eduard Post, Leonie Beljaars, Detlef Schuppan, Klaas Poelstra – 29 April 2011 – Liver fibrogenesis is a process tightly controlled by endogenous anti‐ and pro‐fibrogenic factors. Interferon gamma (IFNγ) is a potent antifibrogenic cytokine in vitro and might therefore represent a powerful therapeutic entity. However, its poor pharmacokinetics and adverse effects, due to the presence of IFNγ receptors on nearly all cells, prevented its clinical application so far.