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.

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.

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.

Jiannis Vlachogiannakos, George Daikos, Ulrich Thalheimer, Andrew K. Burroughs, Spiros D. Ladas – 21 March 2011

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.

Ángeles Ruiz‐Extremera, José Antonio Muñoz‐Gámez, María Angustias Salmerón‐Ruiz, Paloma Muñoz de Rueda, Rosa Quiles‐Pérez, Ana Gila‐Medina, Jorge Casado, Ana Belén Martín, Laura Sanjuan‐Nuñez, Ángel Carazo, Esther José Pavón, Esther Ocete‐Hita, Josefa León, Javier Salmerón – 16 March 2011 – The vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV‐VT) is a major route of HCV infection in children, but the risk factors remain incompletely understood. This study analyzed the role of interleukin 28B (IL28B) in HCV‐VT and in the spontaneous clearance of HCV among infected infants.

Liang Shen – 16 March 2011

Nicholas F. LaRusso – 16 March 2011

Sang‐Oh Lee, Seung H. Kang, Rima C. Abdel‐Massih, Robert A. Brown, Raymund R. Razonable – 15 March 2011 – Bacteremia is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation. The characterization of the microbiological spectrum of bacteremia after liver transplantation may help physicians in choosing the initial empirical antimicrobial therapy for patients presenting with sepsis. The clinical and microbiology records of patients who received liver transplantation from January 1997 to March 2006 were reviewed.

Jing Li, Yujing Chi, Chunjiong Wang, Jing Wu, Hang Yang, Dongjuan Zhang, Yi Zhu, Nanping Wang, Jichun Yang, Youfei Guan – 15 March 2011 – Pancreatic‐derived factor (PANDER) is a pancreatic islet‐specific cytokine that cosecretes with insulin and is important for β cell function. Here, we show that PANDER is constitutively expressed in hepatocytes, and its expression is significantly increased in steatotic livers of diabetic insulin‐resistant db/db mice and mice fed a high‐fat diet.