Clinical utility of hepatitis B surface antigen quantitation in patients with chronic hepatitis B: A review

Yun‐Fan Liaw – 25 July 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.

Vitamin D: An innate antiviral agent suppressing hepatitis C virus in human hepatocytes

Meital Gal‐Tanamy, Larisa Bachmetov, Amiram Ravid, Ruth Koren, Arie Erman, Ran Tur‐Kaspa, Romy Zemel – 25 July 2011 – Vitamin D supplementation was reported to improve the probability of achieving a sustained virological response when combined with antiviral treatment against hepatitis C virus (HCV). Our aim was to determine the in vitro potential of vitamin D to inhibit HCV infectious virus production and explore the mechanism(s) of inhibition. Here we show that vitamin D3 remarkably inhibits HCV production in Huh7.5 hepatoma cells.

Up‐regulation of Hedgehog pathway is associated with cellular permissiveness for hepatitis C virus replication

Steve S. Choi, Shelton Bradrick, Guan Qiang, Anahita Mostafavi, Gaurav Chaturvedi, Steven A. Weinman, Anna Mae Diehl, Ravi Jhaveri – 25 July 2011 – Studies of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) life‐cycle rely heavily on Huh7.5 cells, but the reasons why these cells are exceptionally permissive for HCV replication are not clear. Based on recent clinical observations, we hypothesized that the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway, which has not been previously associated with HCV replication, may be involved in the Huh7.5 phenotype of increased permissiveness.

Cancer surveillance in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis

Nataliya Razumilava, Gregory J. Gores, Keith D. Lindor – 25 July 2011 – Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic fibroinflammatory syndrome involving the biliary tract, often accompanied by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This syndrome is a prototype disease linking chronic inflammation to carcinogenesis. Indeed, PSC is associated with an increased risk of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), gallbladder cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and colorectal cancer.

Apolipoprotein CIII overexpressing mice are predisposed to diet‐induced hepatic steatosis and hepatic insulin resistance

Hui‐Young Lee, Andreas L. Birkenfeld, Francois R. Jornayvaz, Michael J. Jurczak, Shoichi Kanda, Violeta Popov, David W. Frederick, Dongyan Zhang, Blas Guigni, Kalyani G. Bharadwaj, Cheol Soo Choi, Ira J. Goldberg, Jae‐Hak Park, Kitt F. Petersen, Varman T. Samuel, Gerald I. Shulman – 25 July 2011 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and insulin resistance have recently been found to be associated with increased plasma concentrations of apolipoprotein CIII (APOC3) in humans carrying single nucleotide polymorphisms within the insulin response element of the APOC3 gene.

Hepatocytes internalize trophic receptors at large endocytic “Hot Spots”

Hong Cao, Eugene W. Krueger, Mark A. McNiven – 25 July 2011 – Clathrin‐mediated endocytosis in mammalian epithelial cells is believed to require the synergistic action of structural coat proteins and mechanochemical enzymes to deform and sever the plasma membrane (PM) into discreet vesicles. It is generally believed that the formation of clathrin‐coated pits in epithelial cells occurs randomly along the apical and basolateral plasma membranes.

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