Sterol transporter adenosine triphosphate–binding cassette transporter G8, gallstones, and biliary cancer in 62,000 individuals from the general population

Stefan Stender, Ruth Frikke‐Schmidt, Børge G. Nordestgaard, Anne Tybjærg‐Hansen – 20 October 2010 – Gallstone disease, a risk factor for biliary cancer, has a strong heritable component, but the underlying genes are largely unknown.

Strong influence of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐DP gene variants on development of persistent chronic hepatitis B virus carriers in the Han Chinese population

Xiuchan Guo, Yong Zhang, Ji Li, Jingchen Ma, Zuli Wei, Wenjie Tan, Stephen J. O'Brien – 20 October 2010 – Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health issue, especially in Asia. A recent genome‐wide association study (GWAS) implicated genetic variants in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐DP locus associated with chronic hepatitis B in Japanese and Thai populations.

Dual catheter placement technique for treatment of biliary anastomotic strictures after liver transplantation

Dong Il Gwon, Kyu‐Bo Sung, Gi‐Young Ko, Hyun‐Ki Yoon, Sung‐Gyu Lee – 19 October 2010 – The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of percutaneous transhepatic management of anastomotic biliary strictures using the dual catheter placement technique (2 drainage catheters inserted via single percutaneous tract). The protocol of this retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board of our institution and written informed consent was waived.

Immediate noninvasive ventilation may improve mortality in patients with hepatopulmonary syndrome after liver transplantation

Yuichi Chihara, Hiroto Egawa, Tomomasa Tsuboi, Toru Oga, Tomohiro Handa, Kazuhiko Yamamoto, Michiaki Mishima, Koichi Tanaka, Shinji Uemoto, Kazuo Chin – 19 October 2010 – Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is defined as hypoxemia induced by intrapulmonary vascular dilations associated with liver disease. Although liver transplantation (LT) is the only effective therapy established for severe HPS, patients with a partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) less than 60 mm Hg have a poor prognosis. We treated a 4‐year‐old boy with HPS whose preoperative PaO2 level was 48.8 mm Hg.

Different biochemical correlates for different neuropsychiatric abnormalities in patients with cirrhosis

Sara Montagnese, Anna Biancardi, Sami Schiff, Paolo Carraro, Vincenzo Carlà, Guido Mannaioni, Flavio Moroni, Natascia Tono, Paolo Angeli, Angelo Gatta, Piero Amodio – 18 October 2010 – The diagnosis of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) relies on clinical, neurophysiological, psychometric and laboratory variables. The relationships between such tests remain debated. The aim of this study was to determine the laboratory correlates/prognostic value of neurophysiological/psychometric abnormalities in patients with cirrhosis.

Activation of alpha1‐adrenergic receptors stimulate the growth of small mouse cholangiocytes Via calcium‐dependent activation of nuclear factor of activated T cells 2 and specificity protein 1

Gianfranco Alpini, Antonio Franchitto, Sharon DeMorrow, Paolo Onori, Eugenio Gaudio, Candace Wise, Heather Francis, Julie Venter, Shelley Kopriva, Romina Mancinelli, Guido Carpino, Franco Stagnitti, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Yuyan Han, Fanyin Meng, Shannon Glaser – 18 October 2010 – Small cholangiocytes proliferate via activation of calcium (Ca2+)‐dependent signaling in response to pathological conditions that trigger the damage of large cyclic adenosine monophosphate–dependent cholangiocytes.

Therapeutic trials in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: Insulin sensitizers and related methodological issues

Vlad Ratziu, Stephen Caldwell, Brent A. Neuschwander‐Tetri – 18 October 2010 – Insulin sensitizers are attractive candidate therapies for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis mainly because of the strong association between this disease and insulin resistance. This review provides a critical overview of the mechanisms of action, clinical trial results, and safety issues of metformin and glitazones in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. It also highlights methodological challenges for trial design and proposes endpoints for future proof of principle, registrational, and postmarketing trials.

Autoantigen‐specific regulatory T cells, a potential tool for immune‐tolerance reconstitution in type‐2 autoimmune hepatitis

Maria Serena Longhi, Munther J. Hussain, William W. Kwok, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Yun Ma, Diego Vergani – 18 October 2010 – Effector CD4 and CD8 T cell immune responses to cytochrome P450IID6 (CYP2D6), the autoantigen of autoimmune hepatitis type 2 (AIH‐2), are permitted by a numerical and functional impairment of CD4posCD25high regulatory T cells (T‐regs).

B cell depletion therapy exacerbates murine primary biliary cirrhosis

Amy Dhirapong, Ana Lleo, Guo‐Xiang Yang, Koichi Tsuneyama, Robert Dunn, Marilyn Kehry, Thomas A. Packard, John C. Cambier, Fu‐Tong Liu, Keith Lindor, Ross L. Coppel, Aftab A. Ansari, M. Eric Gershwin – 18 October 2010 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is considered a model autoimmune disease due to the clinical homogeneity of patients and the classic hallmark of antimitochondrial antibodies (AMAs). Indeed, the presence of AMAs represents the most highly directed and specific autoantibody in autoimmune diseases. However, the contribution of B cells to the pathogenesis of PBC is unclear.

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