Saifeng Wang, Lipeng Qiu, Xiaoli Yan, Wensong Jin, Yanzhong Wang, Lizhao Chen, Erjie Wu, Xin Ye, George F. Gao, Fusheng Wang, Yu Chen, Zhongping Duan, Songdong Meng – 22 November 2011 – Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes chronic infection in about 350 million people worldwide. Given the important role of the most abundant liver‐specific microRNA, miR‐122, in hepatic function and liver pathology, here we investigated the potential role and mechanism of miR‐122 in regulating HBV replication.

Soo Mi Kim, Sun‐Hee Leem, In‐Sun Chu, Yun‐Yong Park, Sang Cheol Kim, Sang‐Bae Kim, Eun Sung Park, Jae Yun Lim, Jeonghoon Heo, Yoon Jun Kim, Dae‐Ghon Kim, Ahmed Kaseb, Young Nyun Park, Xin Wei Wang, Snorri S. Thorgeirsson, Ju‐Seog Lee – 22 November 2011 – Clinical application of the prognostic gene expression signature has been delayed due to the large number of genes and complexity of prediction algorithms. In the current study we aimed to develop an easy‐to‐use risk score with a limited number of genes that can robustly predict prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Aditya Ambade, Donna Catalano, Arlene Lim, Pranoti Mandrekar – 22 November 2011 – Endotoxin‐mediated proinflammatory cytokines play a significant role in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic liver diseases. Heat shock protein 90 (molecular weight, 90 kDa) (hsp90) functions as an important chaperone of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) signaling and is required for the production of proinflammatory cytokines. We hypothesized that inhibition of hsp90 would prevent LPS‐induced liver injury by decreasing proinflammatory cytokines.

Sumeet K. Asrani, Nicholas F. LaRusso – 22 November 2011

Nataliya Rohr‐Udilova, Wolfgang Sieghart, Robert Eferl, Dagmar Stoiber, Linda Björkhem‐Bergman, Lennart C. Eriksson, Klaus Stolze, Hubert Hayden, Bernhard Keppler, Sandra Sagmeister, Bettina Grasl‐Kraupp, Rolf Schulte‐Hermann, Markus Peck‐Radosavljevic – 22 November 2011 – Activation of the activator protein 1 (AP‐1) transcription factor as well as increased serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin (IL)‐8 predict poor prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs).

John W. Ward, Anna S.F. Lok, David L. Thomas, Hashem B. El‐Serag, W. Ray Kim – 22 November 2011 – The 2010 Institute of Medicine report on “Hepatitis and Liver Cancer” indicated that lack of knowledge and awareness about chronic hepatitis B (HBV) and C virus (HCV) infections and insufficient understanding about the extent and seriousness of this public health problem impeded current efforts to prevent and control hepatitis B and C.

Jin Chai, Yu He, Shi‐Ying Cai, Zhongyong Jiang, Huaizhi Wang, Qiong Li, Lei Chen, Zhihong Peng, Xiaochong He, Xiaoping Wu, Tianli Xiao, Rongquan Wang, James L. Boyer, Wensheng Chen – 22 November 2011 – Multidrug resistance‐associated protein 3 (MRP3, ABC subfamily C [ABCC]3) plays an important role in protecting hepatocytes and other tissues by excreting an array of toxic organic anion conjugates, including bile salts. MRP3/ABCC3 expression is increased in the liver of some cholestatic patients, but the molecular mechanism of this up‐regulation remains elusive.

Noémie Calland, Anna Albecka, Sandrine Belouzard, Czeslaw Wychowski, Gilles Duverlie, Véronique Descamps, Didier Hober, Jean Dubuisson, Yves Rouillé, Karin Séron – 22 November 2011 – Here, we identify (−)‐epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG) as a new inhibitor of hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry. EGCG is a flavonoid present in green tea extract belonging to the subclass of catechins, which has many properties. Particularly, EGCG possesses antiviral activity and impairs cellular lipid metabolism.

Wei‐Chu Chie, Jane M. Blazeby, Chin‐Fu Hsiao, Herng‐Chia Chiu, Ronnie T. Poon, Naoko Mikoshiba, Gillian Al‐Kadhimi, Nigel Heaton, Jozer Calara, Peter Collins, Katharine Caddick, Anna Costantini, Valerie Vilgrain, Ludovic Trinquart, Chieh Chiang, On behalf of the EORTC Quality of Life Group – 22 November 2011 – This international field validation study examined the psychometric properties and clinical validity of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) questionnaire module for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the EORTC quality‐of‐life questionnaire (QLQ)‐HCC18.

Stephen M. Brindley, Allison M. Lanham, Frederick M. Karrer, Rebecca M. Tucker, Andrew P. Fontenot, Cara L. Mack – 22 November 2011 – Biliary atresia (BA) is a progressive, inflammatory cholangiopathy that culminates in fibrosis of extrahepatic and intrahepatic bile ducts. A leading theory on the pathogenesis of BA is that the bile duct damage is initiated by a virus infection, followed by a bile duct‐targeted autoimmune response. One mechanism of autoimmunity entails a diminished number or function of regulatory T cells (Tregs).