Durability of peginterferon alfa‐2b treatment at 5 years in patients with hepatitis B e antigen–positive chronic hepatitis B

Vincent Wai‐Sun Wong, Grace Lai‐Hung Wong, Kenneth Kar‐Lung Yan, Angel Mei‐Ling Chim, Hoi‐Yun Chan, Chi‐Hang Tse, Paul Cheung‐Lung Choi, Anthony Wing‐Hung Chan, Joseph Jao‐Yiu Sung, Henry Lik‐Yuen Chan – 23 May 2010 – Approximately 30%‐40% of patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive chronic hepatitis B treated with peginterferon and/or lamivudine achieve HBeAg seroconversion 6 months after the end of treatment. The durability and long‐term effect of treatment are unknown.

S‐adenosylmethionine regulates dual‐specificity mitogen‐activated protein kinase phosphatase expression in mouse and human hepatocytes

Maria Lauda Tomasi, Komal Ramani, Fernando Lopitz‐Otsoa, Manuel S. Rodríguez, Tony W. H. Li, Kwangsuk Ko, Heping Yang, Fawzia Bardag‐Gorce, Ainhoa Iglesias‐Ara, Francesco Feo, Maria Rosa Pascale, José M. Mato, Shelly C. Lu – 23 May 2010 – Increased mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity correlates with a more malignant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) phenotype. There is a reciprocal regulation between p44/42 MAPK (extracellular signal‐regulated kinase [ERK]1/2) and the dual‐specificity MAPK phosphatase MKP‐1/DUSP1.

Novel mechanism of fetal hepatocyte injury in congenital alloimmune hepatitis involves the terminal complement cascade

Xiaomin Pan, Susan Kelly, Hector Melin‐Aldana, Padmini Malladi, Peter F. Whitington – 23 May 2010 – Evidence suggests that most neonatal hemochromatosis (NH) is the phenotypic expression of gestational alloimmune fetal liver injury. Gestational alloimmune diseases are induced by the placental passage of specific reactive immunoglobulin G and often involve the activation of fetal complement by the classical pathway leading to the formation of membrane attack complex (MAC) as the effector of cell injury.

Multiple effects of silymarin on the hepatitis C virus lifecycle

Jessica Wagoner, Amina Negash, Olivia J. Kane, Laura E. Martinez, Yaakov Nahmias, Nigel Bourne, David M. Owen, Joe Grove, Claire Brimacombe, Jane A. McKeating, Eve‐Isabelle Pécheur, Tyler N. Graf, Nicholas H. Oberlies, Volker Lohmann, Feng Cao, John E. Tavis, Stephen J. Polyak – 23 May 2010 – Silymarin, an extract from milk thistle (Silybum marianum), and its purified flavonolignans have been recently shown to inhibit hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, both in vitro and in vivo. In the current study, we further characterized silymarin's antiviral actions.

Serum hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis B e antigen titers: Disease phase influences correlation with viral load and intrahepatic hepatitis B virus markers

Alexander J.V. Thompson, Tin Nguyen, David Iser, Anna Ayres, Kathy Jackson, Margaret Littlejohn, John Slavin, Scott Bowden, Edward J. Gane, William Abbott, George K.K. Lau, Sharon R. Lewin, Kumar Visvanathan, Paul V. Desmond, Stephen A.

Roles of hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α) versus HIF‐2α in the survival of hepatocellular tumor spheroids

Heidi Menrad, Christian Werno, Tobias Schmid, Ekaterini Copanaki, Thomas Deller, Nathalie Dehne, Bernhard Brüne – 23 May 2010 – Hypoxia‐inducible factors (HIFs) provoke adaptation to hypoxic stress occurring in rapidly growing tumor tissues. Therefore, overexpression of HIF‐1 or HIF‐2 is a common feature in hepatocellular carcinoma but their specific function is still controversially discussed. To analyze HIF function in hypoxia‐induced cell death we created a stable knockdown of HIF‐1α and HIF‐2α in HepG2 cells and generated tumor spheroids as an in vitro hepatocellular carcinoma model.

CX3CR1 and vascular adhesion protein‐1‐dependent recruitment of CD16+ monocytes across human liver sinusoidal endothelium

Alexander I. Aspinall, Stuart M. Curbishley, Patricia F. Lalor, Chris J. Weston, Miroslava Blahova, Evaggelia Liaskou, Rebecca M. Adams, Andrew P. Holt, David H. Adams – 23 May 2010 – The liver contains macrophages and myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) that are critical for the regulation of hepatic inflammation. Most hepatic macrophages and mDCs are derived from monocytes recruited from the blood through poorly understood interactions with hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (HSECs). Human CD16+ monocytes are thought to contain the precursor populations for tissue macrophages and mDCs.

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