Ronnie T.P. Poon – 25 July 2011

Fanyin Meng, Yuyan Han, Dustin Staloch, Taylor Francis, Allison Stokes, Heather Francis – 25 July 2011 – Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a biliary cancer arising from damaged bile ducts. Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurs as epithelial cells begin to resemble mesenchymal cells leading to increased invasion potential as the extracellular matrix (ECM) degrades. Histamine exerts its effects by way of four receptors (H1‐H4 HRs). Clobenpropit, a potent H4HR agonist, inhibits mammary adenocarcinoma growth.

Rohan Manohar, Junji Komori, Lynda Guzik, Donna B. Stolz, Uma R. Chandran, William A. LaFramboise, Eric Lagasse – 25 July 2011 – The identification of resident stem cells in the mouse gallbladder is, to date, unexplored. In addition, the relationship between adult gallbladder stem cells and intrahepatic bile duct (IHBD) cells is not well understood. The aim of this study was to isolate stem cells from an adult mouse gallbladder and determine whether they were unique, compared to IHBD cells.

Fredrik Åberg, Suvi Mäklin, Pirjo Räsänen, Risto P. Roine, Harri Sintonen, Anna‐Maria Koivusalo, Krister Höckerstedt, Helena Isoniemi – 18 July 2011 – Cost issues in liver transplantation (LT) have received increasing attention, but the cost‐utility is rarely calculated. We compared costs per quality‐adjusted life year (QALY) from the time of placement on the LT waiting list to 1 year after transplantation for 252 LT patients and to 5 years after transplantation for 81 patients.

Giovanni Vizzini, Monica Asaro, Roberto Miraglia, Salvatore Gruttadauria, Daniela Filì, Adele D'Antoni, Ioannis Petridis, Gianluca Marrone, Duilio Pagano, Bruno Gridelli – 18 July 2011 – Central nervous system (CNS) complications are common after liver transplantation (LT). According to the literature, the most common causes are infections and the neurotoxicity of immunosuppressive drugs (cyclosporine and tacrolimus).

Fu Yang, Ling Zhang, Xi‐song Huo, Ji‐hang Yuan, Dan Xu, Sheng‐xian Yuan, Nan Zhu, Wei‐ping Zhou, Guang‐shun Yang, Yu‐zhao Wang, Jing‐li Shang, Chun‐fang Gao, Feng‐rui Zhang, Fang Wang, Shu‐han Sun – 18 July 2011 – In recent years, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to have critical regulatory roles in cancer biology. However, the contributions of lncRNAs to hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain largely unknown.

Danielle Brandman, Andrea Pingitore, Jennifer C. Lai, John P. Roberts, Linda Ferrell, Nathan M. Bass, Norah A. Terrault – 18 July 2011 – Recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common cause of graft loss for HCV‐infected recipients of liver transplantation (LT). Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been associated with increased rates of fibrosis progression, but whether steatosis affects post‐LT outcomes independently of DM is unclear.

Shao Fa Wang, Zhi Yong Huang, Xiao Ping Chen – 14 July 2011 – Biliary complications occur more frequently after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) versus deceased donor liver transplantation, and they remain the most common and intractable problems after LDLT. The anatomical limitations of multiple tiny bile ducts and the differential blood supplies of the graft ducts may be significant factors in the pathophysiological mechanisms of biliary complications in patients undergoing LDLT.

Kymberly D. Watt – 14 July 2011 – Key Points

Diarmaid D. Houlihan, Matthew J. Armstrong, Yana Davidov, James Hodson, Peter Nightingale, Ian A. Rowe, Sue Paris, Bridget K. Gunson, Simon B. Bramhall, David J. Mutimer, James M. Neuberger, Philip N. Newsome – 14 July 2011 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is an independent risk factor for chronic kidney injury (CKI), yet the impact of liver transplantation (LT) on renal function in this at‐risk group is not known. We compared the post‐LT renal function of patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and a matched comparison group.