Gerald U. Denk, Silvia Maitz, Ralf Wimmer, Christian Rust, Pietro Invernizzi, Sacha Ferdinandusse, Wim Kulik, Andrea Fuchsbichler, Peter Fickert, Michael Trauner, Alan F. Hofmann, Ulrich Beuers – 20 August 2010 – NorUDCA (24‐norursodeoxycholic acid), the C23‐homolog of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), showed remarkable therapeutic effects in cholestatic Mdr2 (Abcb4) (multidrug resistance protein 2/ATP‐binding cassette b4) knockout mice with sclerosing/fibrosing cholangitis.

Giovanni Targher, Christopher P. Day – 19 August 2010

Massimo Iavarone, Angelo Sangiovanni, Laura Virginia Forzenigo, Sara Massironi, Mirella Fraquelli, Alessio Aghemo, Guido Ronchi, Piero Biondetti, Massimo Roncalli, Massimo Colombo – 19 August 2010 – Dynamic contrast imaging techniques are considered the standard of care for the radiological diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhosis. However, the accuracy of radiological diagnosis depends largely on the degree of arterial hypervascularization, which increases with tumor size.

Karsten Wursthorn, Mechthild Jung, Antonio Riva, Zachary D. Goodman, Patricia Lopez, Weibin Bao, Michael P. Manns, Heiner Wedemeyer, Nikolai V. Naoumov – 19 August 2010 – The impact of prolonged direct antiviral therapy on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B is poorly understood.

Xiao Yang, Virginia Haurigot, Shangzhen Zhou, Guangxiang Luo, Linda B Couto – 19 August 2010 – RNA interference (RNAi) is being evaluated as an alternative therapeutic strategy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The use of viral vectors encoding short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) has been the most common strategy employed to provide sustained expression of RNAi effectors. However, overexpression and incomplete processing of shRNAs has led to saturation of the endogenous miRNA pathway, resulting in toxicity.

Linhui Liang, Chun‐Ming Wong, Qiao Ying, Dorothy Ngo‐Yin Fan, Shenglin Huang, Jie Ding, Jian Yao, Mingxia Yan, Jinjun Li, Ming Yao, Irene Oi‐Lin Ng, Xianghuo He – 19 August 2010 – MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs that can act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in human cancer. Our previous study showed that miR‐125b was a prognostic indicator for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its functions and exact mechanisms in hepatic carcinogenesis are still unknown. Here we demonstrate that miR‐125b suppressed HCC cell growth in vitro and in vivo.

Tugrul Purnak, Cumali Efe, Yavuz Beyazit, Ersan Ozaslan – 19 August 2010

Gemma Brufau, Frans Stellaard, Kris Prado, Vincent W. Bloks, Elles Jonkers, Renze Boverhof, Folkert Kuipers, Elizabeth J. Murphy – 19 August 2010 – Bile acids (BAs) are essential for fat absorption and appear to modulate glucose and energy metabolism. Colesevelam, a BA sequestrant, improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We aimed to characterize the alterations in BA metabolism associated with T2DM and colesevelam treatment and to establish whether metabolic consequences of T2DM and colesevelam are related to changes in BA metabolism.

David E. J. Jones, Julia L. Newton – 19 August 2010

Paola Vitaglione, Filomena Morisco, Giovanna Mazzone, Daniela Caterina Amoruso, Maria Teresa Ribecco, Antonietta Romano, Vincenzo Fogliano, Nicola Caporaso, Giuseppe D'Argenio – 19 August 2010 – Epidemiological data associate coffee consumption with a lower prevalence of chronic liver disease and a reduced risk of elevated liver enzyme levels (γ glutamyl transpeptidase and alanine aminotransferase), advanced liver disease and its complications, and hepatocellular carcinoma.