Jeremie Martinet, Vincent Leroy, Tania Dufeu‐Duchesne, Sylvie Larrat, Marie‐Jeanne Richard, Fabien Zoulim, Joel Plumas, Caroline Aspord – 18 June 2012 – The immune control of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is essential for viral clearance. Therefore, restoring functional anti–HBV immunity is a promising immunotherapeutic approach to treatment of chronic infection. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) play a crucial role in triggering antiviral immunity through their ability to capture and process viral antigens and subsequently induce adaptive immune responses.

Suzanne E. Mahady, Germaine Wong, Jonathan C. Craig, Jacob George – 18 June 2012 – Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the commonest liver disease in developed countries. However, there are no current data on the cost‐effectiveness of therapeutic options such as lifestyle modification, pioglitazone, or vitamin E. We undertook a cost utility analysis to compare these strategies.

Philippe Metz, Eva Dazert, Alessia Ruggieri, Johanna Mazur, Lars Kaderali, Artur Kaul, Ulf Zeuge, Marc P. Windisch, Martin Trippler, Volker Lohmann, Marco Binder, Michael Frese, Ralf Bartenschlager – 18 June 2012 – Persistent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) can lead to chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. All current therapies of hepatitis C include interferon‐alpha (IFN‐α). Moreover, IFN‐gamma (IFN‐γ), the only type II IFN, strongly inhibits HCV replication in vitro and is the primary mediator of HCV‐specific antiviral T‐cell responses.

Patrick Marcellin, Hugo Cheinquer, Manuela Curescu, Geoffrey M. Dusheiko, Peter Ferenci, Andrzej Horban, Donald Jensen, Gabriella Lengyel, Alessandra Mangia, Denis Ouzan, Massimo Puoti, Maribel Rodriguez‐Torres, Mitchell L. Shiffman, Manuela Schmitz, Fernando Tatsch, Mario Rizzetto – 18 June 2012 – The ability to predict which patients are most likely to achieve a sustained virologic response (SVR) with peginterferon/ribavirin would be useful in optimizing treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Tao Zhang, Junping Zhang, Xiaona You, Qian Liu, Yumei Du, Yuen Gao, Changliang Shan, Guangyao Kong, Youliang Wang, Xiao Yang, Lihong Ye, Xiaodong Zhang – 18 June 2012 – Hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) plays critical roles in the development of hepatocellular carcinogenesis (HCC). Yes‐associated protein (YAP), a downstream effector of the Hippo‐signaling pathway, is an important human oncogene. In the present article, we report that YAP is involved in the hepatocarcinogenesis mediated by HBx.

Ji Hoon Yu, Bing‐Mei Zhu, Gregory Riedlinger, Keunsoo Kang, Lothar Hennighausen – 18 June 2012 – Loss of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) from liver tissue results in steatosis and enhanced cell proliferation. This study demonstrates that liver‐specific Stat5‐null mice develop severe hepatic steatosis as well as hepatocellular carcinomas at 17 months of age, even in the absence of chemical insults. To understand STAT5′s role as a tumor suppressor, we identified and investigated new STAT5 target genes.

Keunok Jung, Miseon Kang, Cheol Park, Yung Hyun Choi, Youkyung Jeon, Se‐Ho Park, Su‐Kil Seo, Dan Jin, Inhak Choi – 18 June 2012 – V‐set and Ig domain‐containing 4 (VSIG4, CRIg, or Z39Ig), a newly identified B7‐related cosignaling molecule, is a complement receptor and a coinhibitory ligand that negatively regulates T‐cell immunity. Despite its exclusive expression on liver Kupffer cells (KCs) that play key roles in liver tolerance, the physiological role of VSIG4 in liver tolerance remains undefined.

Shao‐Lai Zhou, Zhi Dai, Zheng‐Jun Zhou, Xiao‐Ying Wang, Guo‐Huan Yang, Zheng Wang, Xiao‐Wu Huang, Jia Fan, Jian Zhou – 18 June 2012 – CXCL5 (epithelial neutrophil‐activating peptide‐78) is a member of a proangiogenic subgroup of the CXC‐type chemokine family of small, secreted proteins. Recently, evidence that CXCL5 is involved in carcinogenesis and cancer progression has emerged.

Kimihiko Murase, Yuichi Chihara, Kenichi Takahashi, Shinya Okamoto, Hajime Segawa, Kazuhiko Fukuda, Koichi Tanaka, Shinji Uemoto, Michiaki Mishima, Kazuo Chin – 12 June 2012 – Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) refers to ventilation delivered through a noninvasive interface (a nasal or face mask) rather than an invasive interface (an endotracheal tube or tracheostomy). The role of NIV in preventing reintubation after abdominal surgery in pediatric patients is uncertain. Therefore, we evaluated the role of NIV for this purpose in pediatric patients after liver transplantation.

Jyoti Srivastava, Ayesha Siddiq, Luni Emdad, Prasanna Kumar Santhekadur, Dong Chen, Rachel Gredler, Xue‐Ning Shen, Chadia L. Robertson, Catherine I. Dumur, Phillip B. Hylemon, Nitai D. Mukhopadhyay, Deepak Bhere, Khalid Shah, Rushdy Ahmad, Shah Giashuddin, Jillian Stafflinger, Mark A. Subler, Jolene J. Windle, Paul B. Fisher, Devanand Sarkar – 11 June 2012 – Astrocyte elevated gene‐1 (AEG‐1) is a key contributor to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development and progression.