Jie Zhou, Thomas Tan, Yongjun Tian, Bojian Zheng, J.‐H. James Ou, Eric J. Huang, T.S. Benedict Yen – 18 April 2011 – Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a small DNA virus that requires cellular transcription factors for the expression of its genes. To understand the molecular mechanisms that regulate HBV gene expression, we conducted a yeast one‐hybrid screen to identify novel cellular transcription factors that may control HBV gene expression. Here, we demonstrate that Krüppel‐like factor 15 (KLF15), a liver‐enriched transcription factor, can robustly activate HBV surface and core promoters.

Mateus T. Guerra, Emerson A. Fonseca, Flavia M. Melo, Viviane A. Andrade, Carla J. Aguiar, Lídia M. Andrade, Ana Cristina N. Pinheiro, Marisa C. F. Casteluber, Rodrigo R. Resende, Mauro C. X. Pinto, Simone O. A. Fernandes, Valbert N. Cardoso, Elaine M. Souza‐Fagundes, Gustavo B. Menezes, Ana M. de Paula, Michael H. Nathanson, Maria de Fátima Leite – 18 April 2011 – Subcellular Ca2+ signals control a variety of responses in the liver. For example, mitochondrial Ca2+ (Ca) regulates apoptosis, whereas Ca2+ in the nucleus regulates cell proliferation.

Alain Braillon – 18 April 2011

Alain Braillon – 18 April 2011

Michael Ehrhardt, Petra Leidinger, Andreas Keller, Thomas Baumert, Juana Díez, Eckart Meese, Andreas Meyerhans – 18 April 2011

Chao‐Wei Hsu, Chau‐Ting Yeh – 18 April 2011 – With anti–hepatitis B virus (anti‐HBV) therapy using peginterferon, the seroconversion of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), which is considered a cure of the disease, can be achieved in a small percentage of patients. Eight of 245 consecutive patients (3.27%) with chronic hepatitis B who received peginterferon therapy at our center achieved HBsAg seroclearance. Surprisingly, two of the eight patients remained viremic according to standard HBV DNA assays.

Cheng Ji, Neil Kaplowitz, Mo Yin Lau, Eddy Kao, Lydia M. Petrovic, Amy S. Lee – 18 April 2011 – The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone protein glucose‐regulated protein 78 (GRP78)/binding immunoglobulin protein is a master regulator of ER homeostasis and stress responses, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders. By applying the locus of X‐over P1–cyclization recombination strategy, we generated mice with liver‐specific GRP78 loss.

Rodrigo Vincenzi, João Seda Neto, Eduardo A. Fonseca, Vincenzo Pugliese, Katia R. M. Leite, Marcel R. Benavides, Helry Lopes Cândido, Gilda Porta, Irene K. Miura, Renata Pugliese, Vera B. Danesi, Teresa C. Guimarães, Adriana Porta, Mario Kondo, Eduardo Carone, Paulo Chapchap – 18 April 2011 – The increasing number of transplants performed each year has led to the identification of unusual diseases in liver grafts from asymptomatic donors that were unrecognized before liver transplantation. Here we report our experience with patients who received liver grafts infected with schistosomiasis.

Yun‐Fan Liaw – 18 April 2011 – This clinically relevant review focuses on recent findings concerning hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) quantitation in untreated patients and treated patients with chronic hepatitis B. Recent studies and emerging data have shown that both HBsAg and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels decline during the natural course of a chronic HBV infection; they are lowest in the inactive phase, which is also characterized by the highest HBsAg/HBV DNA ratio.

Yun‐Fan Liaw, Maria Raptopoulou‐Gigi, Hugo Cheinquer, Shiv Kumar Sarin, Tawesak Tanwandee, Nancy Leung, Cheng‐Yuan Peng, Robert P. Myers, Robert S. Brown, Lennox Jeffers, Naoky Tsai, Jolanta Bialkowska, Shijie Tang, Suzanne Beebe, Elizabeth Cooney – 18 April 2011 – A randomized, open‐label comparative study of entecavir versus adefovir therapy was performed in subjects with chronic hepatitis B who had hepatic decompensation (Child‐Turcotte‐Pugh score ≥7).