Tiangang Li, Michelle Matozel, Shannon Boehme, Bo Kong, Lisa‐Mari Nilsson, Grace Guo, Ewa Ellis, John Y. L. Chiang – 14 December 2010 – We reported previously that mice overexpressing cytochrome P450 7a1 (Cyp7a1; Cyp7a1‐tg mice) are protected against high fat diet–induced hypercholesterolemia, obesity, and insulin resistance. Here, we investigated the underlying mechanism of bile acid signaling in maintaining cholesterol homeostasis in Cyp7a1‐tg mice. Cyp7a1‐tg mice had two‐fold higher Cyp7a1 activity and bile acid pool than did wild‐type mice.

Hitendra Garg, Shiv Kumar Sarin, Manoj Kumar, Vishal Garg, Barjesh Chander Sharma, Ashish Kumar – 14 December 2010 – Spontaneous reactivation of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is an important cause of acute‐on‐chronic liver failure (ACLF). Antiviral drugs may help reduce the high morbidity and mortality in such patients, especially in places where liver transplant is not available. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy of tenofovir and to determine the predictors of mortality in patients with spontaneous reactivation of CHB with ACLF.

14 December 2010

Vicenzo Mazzaferro – 14 December 2010

Vivek Shukla, Cyrille Cuenin, Nileshkumar Dubey, Zdenko Herceg – 13 December 2010 – Organ regeneration after toxin challenge or physical injury requires a prompt and balanced cell‐proliferative response; a well‐orchestrated cascade of gene expression is needed to regulate transcription factors and proteins involved in cell cycle progression and cell proliferation.

Tetsuji Yoneyama, Katsuhiro Asonuma, Hideaki Okajima, Kwang‐Jong Lee, Hidekazu Yamamoto, Takayuki Takeichi, Yoshiharu Nakayama, Yukihiro Inomata – 13 December 2010 – In the clinical setting of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), it is common to find a discrepancy between the graft volume estimated by preoperative computed tomography volumetry and the actual graft weight (AGW) measured on the back‐table. In this study, we attempt to find the coefficient factor that correlates the estimated graft volume to the AGW.

Dominique Thabut, Richard Moreau, Didier Lebrec – 13 December 2010 – Severe portal hypertension is responsible for complications and death. Although measurement of the hepatic venous pressure gradient is the most accurate method for evaluating the presence and severity of portal hypertension, this technique is considered invasive and is not routinely performed in all centers. Several noninvasive techniques have been proposed to measure portal hypertension.

Elizabeth M. Brunt, David E. Kleiner, Laura A. Wilson, Patricia Belt, Brent A. Neuschwander‐Tetri, for the NASH Clinical Research Network (CRN) – 13 December 2010 – The diagnosis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is defined by the presence and pattern of specific histological abnormalities on liver biopsy. A separate system of scoring the features of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) called the NAFLD Activity Score (NAS) was developed as a tool to measure changes in NAFLD during therapeutic trials.

Jan Stange, Melanie Stiffel, Anne Goetze, Sabrina Strube, Juliane Gruenert, Sebastian Klammt, Steffen Mitzner, Sebastian Koball, Stefan Liebe, Emil Reisinger – 13 December 2010 – Liver failure is associated with an accumulation of toxic molecules that exert an affinity to albumin. Some of them have vasoactive activity. So far, albumin has been used as a plasma expander to improve the available circulating blood volume. However, recent studies have suggested that albumin is more effective than starch for this indication.

Hye Jung Baek, Michael J. Pishvaian, Yi Tang, Tae Hyun Kim, Shaoxian Yang, Majed El Zouhairi, Jon Mendelson, Kirti Shetty, Bhaskar Kallakury, Deborah L. Berry, Kyung Hwan Shin, Bibhuti Mishra, E. Premkumar Reddy, Sang Soo Kim, Lopa Mishra – 13 December 2010 – Transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β) is an important regulator of cell growth, and loss of TGF‐β signaling is a hallmark of carcinogenesis. The Smad3/4 adaptor protein β2‐spectrin (β2SP) is emerging as a potent regulator of tumorigenesis through its ability to modulate the tumor suppressor function of TGF‐β.