Raised hepatic bile acid concentrations during pregnancy in mice are associated with reduced farnesoid X receptor function

Alexandra Milona, Bryn M. Owen, Jeremy F. L. Cobbold, Ellen C. L. Willemsen, Isobel J. Cox, Mohamed Boudjelal, William Cairns, Kristina Schoonjans, Simon D. Taylor‐Robinson, Leo W. J. Klomp, Malcolm G. Parker, Roger White, Saskia W. C. van Mil, Catherine Williamson – 29 July 2010 – Pregnancy alters bile acid homeostasis and can unmask cholestatic disease in genetically predisposed but otherwise asymptomatic individuals. In this report, we show that normal pregnant mice have raised hepatic bile acid levels in the presence of procholestatic gene expression.

Phosphoinositide 3‐kinase/protein kinase B signaling pathway is involved in estradiol 17β‐d‐glucuronide–induced cholestasis: Complementarity with classical protein kinase c

Andrea C. Boaglio, Andrés E. Zucchetti, Enrique J. Sánchez Pozzi, José M. Pellegrino, Justina Elena Ochoa, Aldo D. Mottino, Mary Vore, Fernando A. Crocenzi, Marcelo G. Roma – 29 July 2010 – Estradiol 17β‐D‐glucuronide (E217G) is an endogenous, cholestatic metabolite that induces endocytic internalization of the canalicular transporters relevant to bile secretion: bile salt export pump (Bsep) and multidrug resistance–associated protein 2 (Mrp2). We assessed whether phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K) is involved in E217G‐induced cholestasis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in liver transplantation

Baligh R. Yehia, Emily A. Blumberg – 29 July 2010 – Mycobacterium tuberculosis can cause significant infections in liver transplant candidates and recipients. Its nonspecific clinical features and prolonged growth time in culture make the diagnosis difficult, and treating tuberculosis (TB) remains challenging because of significant toxicities and drug‐drug interactions. The diagnosis of a latent TB infection may be accomplished with tuberculin skin testing and with the newer interferon‐γ release assays, although this infection may be underrecognized because of host factors.

Hepatic venous outflow obstruction in pediatric living donor liver transplantation using left‐sided lobe grafts: Kyoto university experience

Seisuke Sakamoto, Hiroto Egawa, Hiroyuki Kanazawa, Toshiya Shibata, Aya Miyagawa‐Hayashino, Hironori Haga, Yasuhiro Ogura, Mureo Kasahara, Koichi Tanaka, Sinji Uemoto – 29 July 2010 – The goals of this study were to evaluate the incidence of hepatic venous outflow obstruction (HVOO) in pediatric patients after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) using left‐sided lobe grafts and to assess the therapeutic modalities used for the treatment of this complication at a single center.

Rifaximin for the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection after liver transplantation: A case series

Guy Neff, Victoria Zacharias, Tiffany E. Kaiser, Amy Gaddis, Nyingi Kemmer – 27 July 2010 – Previous data have suggested that the nonsystemic antibiotic rifaximin may be effective for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). This single‐center retrospective study evaluated the efficacy of rifaximin for the treatment of CDI refractory to standard treatments in patients who had received liver transplants. Among 205 patients who had received liver transplants between July 2001 and December 2007, 3 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of C.

Validation of a current definition of early allograft dysfunction in liver transplant recipients and analysis of risk factors

Kim M. Olthoff, Laura Kulik, Benjamin Samstein, Mary Kaminski, Michael Abecassis, Jean Emond, Abraham Shaked, Jason D. Christie – 27 July 2010 – Translational studies in liver transplantation often require an endpoint of graft function or dysfunction beyond graft loss. Prior definitions of early allograft dysfunction (EAD) vary, and none have been validated in a large multicenter population in the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) era. We examined an updated definition of EAD to validate previously used criteria, and correlated this definition with graft and patient outcome.

Hepatocellular carcinoma: Ablate and wait versus rapid transplantation

John P. Roberts, Alan Venook, Robert Kerlan, Francis Yao – 27 July 2010 – This opinion piece explores an “ablate and wait” strategy for improving the 5‐year recurrence‐free outcome of liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The Milan criteria delimit by tumor size and number a population of patients who have good survival after liver transplantation.

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