Patrick S. Kamath – 17 June 2011

Munzir M.E. Ahmed, Tao Wang, Yu Luo, Shuilong Ye, Qiao Wu, Zongsheng Guo, Bill D. Roebuck, Thomas R. Sutter, James Y. Yang – 17 June 2011 – Aldo‐keto reductase‐7A (AKR7A) is an enzyme important for bioactivation and biodetoxification. Previous studies suggested that Akr7a might be transcriptionally regulated by oxidative stress‐responsive transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2 p45‐related factor 2 (Nrf2), a protein highly responsive to acetaminophen (APAP) or its intermediate metabolite, N‐acetyl‐p‐benzoquinoneimine (NAPQI).

Eric Davis, Russell Wiesner, Juan Valdecasas, Yoshiaki Kita, Massimo Rossi, Myron Schwartz – 17 June 2011

Frank Chen, Ann‐Bin Shyu, Benjamin L. Shneider – 17 June 2011

Antonio Mazzocca, Francesco Dituri, Luigi Lupo, Michele Quaranta, Salvatore Antonaci, Gianluigi Giannelli – 14 June 2011 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurs in fibrotic liver as a consequence of underlying cirrhosis. The goal of this study was to investigate how the interaction between HCC cells and stromal fibroblasts affects tumor progression. We isolated and characterized carcinoma‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and paired peritumoral tissue fibroblasts (PTFs) from 10 different patients with HCC and performed coculture experiments.

Ayako Suzuki, Elizabeth M. Brunt, David E. Kleiner, Rosa Miquel, Thomas C. Smyrk, Raul J. Andrade, M. Isabel Lucena, Agustin Castiella, Keith Lindor, Einar Björnsson – 14 June 2011 – Distinguishing drug‐induced liver injury (DILI) from idiopathic autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) can be challenging. We performed a standardized histologic evaluation to explore potential hallmarks to differentiate AIH versus DILI.

Romina Lomonaco, Carolina Ortiz‐Lopez, Beverly Orsak, Joan Finch, Amy Webb, Fernando Bril, Christopher Louden, Fermin Tio, Kenneth Cusi – 14 June 2011 – The role of ethnicity in determining disease severity in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) remains unclear. We recruited 152 patients with biopsy‐proven NASH, 63% of whom were Hispanic and 37% of whom were Caucasian. Both groups were well matched for age, sex, and total body fat.

Baomei Shao, Richard L. Kitchens, Robert S. Munford, Thomas E. Rogers, Don C. Rockey, Alan W. Varley – 14 June 2011 – Transient hepatomegaly often accompanies acute bacterial infections. Reversible, dose‐dependent hepatomegaly also occurs when animals are given intravenous infusions of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We found that recovery from LPS‐induced hepatomegaly requires a host enzyme, acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH), that inactivates LPS.

Runqiu Jiang, Zhongming Tan, Lei Deng, Yun Chen, Yongxiang Xia, Yun Gao, Xuehao Wang, Beicheng Sun – 14 June 2011 – Interleukin‐22 (IL‐22), one of the cytokines secreted by T helper 17 (Th17) cells, was recently reported to be a novel inflammation driver through STAT3 signaling activation. We aimed to investigate the role of IL‐22 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We demonstrated significant up‐regulation of IL‐22 in human HCC tumor infiltrated leukocytes (TILs) compared to peripheral lymphocytes.

Abdul M. Oseini, Roongruedee Chaiteerakij, Abdirashid M. Shire, Amaar Ghazale, Joseph Kaiya, Catherine D. Moser, Ileana Aderca, Teresa A. Mettler, Terry M. Therneau, Lizhi Zhang, Naoki Takahashi, Suresh T. Chari, Lewis R. Roberts – 14 June 2011 – Elevated serum immunoglobulin G4 (sIgG4) is a feature of autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) and IgG4‐associated cholangitis (IAC); a >2‐fold increase in sIgG4 is considered highly specific for these disorders.