Feasibility and safety of percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with end‐stage liver disease referred for liver transplantation

Babak Azarbal, Paul Poommipanit, Boris Arbit, Antoine Hage, Jignesh Patel, Michelle Kittleson, Saibal Kar, Fady M. Kaldas, Ronald W. Busuttil – 21 March 2011 – Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has traditionally not been an option for patients with end‐stage liver disease (ESLD) and coronary artery disease (CAD). This retrospective study was designed to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of PCI in liver transplant candidates. Patients with ESLD and hemodynamically significant CAD who were otherwise deemed to be acceptable candidates for liver transplantation underwent PCI.

Ethnic differences in viral dominance patterns in patients with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus dual infection

Long H. Nguyen, Steve Ko, Shane S. Wong, Pelu S. Tran, Huy N. Trinh, Ruel T. Garcia, Aijaz Ahmed, Glen A. Lutchman, Emmet B. Keeffe, Mindie H. Nguyen – 21 March 2011 – Studies of hepatitis B virus (HBV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV) dual infection are limited. Most are small, conducted outside the United States, and compare dual infection with HCV monoinfection. The goal of this study was to characterize HBV/HCV dual infection in a large multiethnic, matched, case‐control study of dual‐infected and HBV‐monoinfected patients at two United States centers.

Anchoring interferon alpha to apolipoprotein A‐I reduces hematological toxicity while enhancing immunostimulatory properties

Jessica Fioravanti, Iranzu González, José Medina‐Echeverz, Esther Larrea, Nuria Ardaiz, Gloria González‐Aseguinolaza, Jesús Prieto, Pedro Berraondo – 21 March 2011 – Interferon alpha (IFNα) is widely used for the treatment of viral hepatitis but substantial toxicity hampers its clinical use. In this work, we aimed at improving the efficacy of IFNα therapy by increasing the IFNα half‐life and providing liver tropism. We selected apolipoprotein A‐I (ApoA‐I) as the stabilizing and targeting moiety.

Immune response to extracellular matrix collagen in chronic hepatitis C–induced liver fibrosis

Brian B. Borg, Anil Seetharam, Vijay Subramanian, Haseeb Ilias Basha, Mauricio Lisker‐Melman, Kevin Korenblat, Christopher D. Anderson, Surendra Shenoy, William C. Chapman, Jeffrey S. Crippin, Thalachallour Mohanakumar – 21 March 2011 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and its recurrence after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) are associated with the remodeling of extracellular matrix (ECM) components [particularly collagen (Col)], which leads to fibrosis.

Hemodynamic consequences of spontaneous splenorenal shunts in deceased donor liver transplantation

Federico Castillo‐Suescun, Gabriel C. Oniscu, Ernest Hidalgo – 21 March 2011 – The presence of large spontaneous splenorenal shunts (SSRSs) is a risk factor for poor portal vein flow and liver dysfunction. The disconnection of splenorenal shunts by left renal vein (LRV) ligation has been suggested as a potential solution for improving portal flow. We reviewed the hemodynamic consequences of splenorenal shunts in deceased donor liver transplantation and investigated the role of LRV ligation.

Mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein defect links impaired antiviral response and liver injury in steatohepatitis in mice

Timea Csak, Angela Dolganiuc, Karen Kodys, Bharath Nath, Jan Petrasek, Shashi Bala, Dora Lippai, Gyongyi Szabo – 21 March 2011 – Mitochondrial dysfunction is a pathogenic feature of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH complicates hepatotropic viral disease. The mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS) is the adapter of helicase receptors involved in sensing double‐stranded RNA (dsRNA). We hypothesized that impaired MAVS function may contribute to insufficient antiviral response and liver damage in steatohepatitis.

Delayed‐onset caspase‐dependent massive hepatocyte apoptosis upon fas activation in bak/bax‐deficient mice

Hayato Hikita, Tetsuo Takehara, Takahiro Kodama, Satoshi Shimizu, Minoru Shigekawa, Atsushi Hosui, Takuya Miyagi, Tomohide Tatsumi, Hisashi Ishida, Wei Li, Tatsuya Kanto, Naoki Hiramatsu, Shigeomi Shimizu, Yoshihide Tsujimoto, Norio Hayashi – 21 March 2011 – The proapoptotic Bcl‐2 family proteins Bak and Bax serve as an essential gateway to the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis.

Electrostatic modifications of the human leukocyte antigen‐DR P9 peptide‐binding pocket and susceptibility to primary sclerosing cholangitis

Johannes R. Hov, Vasilis Kosmoliaptsis, James A. Traherne, Marita Olsson, Kirsten M. Boberg, Annika Bergquist, Erik Schrumpf, J. Andrew Bradley, Craig J. Taylor, Benedicte A. Lie, John Trowsdale, Tom H. Karlsen – 16 March 2011 – The strongest genetic risk factors for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are found in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex at chromosome 6p21. Genes in the HLA class II region encode molecules that present antigen to T lymphocytes.

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