Accumulation of natural killer T cells in progressive nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Wing‐Kin Syn, Ye Htun Oo, Thiago A. Pereira, Gamze F. Karaca, Youngmi Jung, Alessia Omenetti, Rafal P. Witek, Steve S. Choi, Cynthia D. Guy, Caitlin M. Fearing, Vanessa Teaberry, Fausto E.L. Pereira, David H. Adams, Anna Mae Diehl – 23 May 2010 – Liver inflammation is greater in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) than steatosis, suggesting that immune responses contribute to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) progression. Livers normally contain many natural killer T (NKT) cells that produce factors that modulate inflammatory and fibrogenic responses.

Quantitative analyses and transcriptomic profiling of circulating messenger RNAs as biomarkers of rat liver injury

Barbara A. Wetmore, Dominique J. Brees, Reetu Singh, Paul B. Watkins, Melvin E. Andersen, James Loy, Russell S. Thomas – 23 May 2010 – Serum aminotransferases have been the clinical standard for evaluating liver injury for the past 50‐60 years. These tissue enzymes lack specificity, also tracking injury to other tissues. New technologies assessing tissue‐specific messenger RNA (mRNA) release into blood should provide greater specificity and permit indirect assessment of gene expression status of injured tissue.

Acetate, the key modulator of inflammatory responses in acute alcoholic hepatitis

Stuart F. W. Kendrick, Graeme O'Boyle, Jelena Mann, Mujdat Zeybel, Jeremy Palmer, David E. J. Jones, Chris P. Day – 23 May 2010 – Acute alcoholic hepatitis is characterized by disproportionate macrophage inflammatory cytokine responses to bacterial lipopolysaccharide. Lack of knowledge of the underlying mechanism has limited progress toward effective therapy. We postulated a novel mechanism by which ethanol increases histone acetylation, increasing proinflammatory gene transcription and cytokine synthesis.

Fatty liver is associated with dyslipidemia and dysglycemia independent of visceral fat: The Framingham heart study

Elizabeth K. Speliotes, Joseph M. Massaro, Udo Hoffmann, Ramachandran S. Vasan, James B. Meigs, Dushyant V. Sahani, Joel N. Hirschhorn, Christopher J. O'Donnell, Caroline S. Fox – 23 May 2010 – Obesity is not uniformly associated with the development of metabolic sequelae. Specific patterns of body fat distribution, in particular fatty liver, may preferentially predispose at‐risk individuals to disease. In this study, we characterize the metabolic correlates of fat in the liver in a large community‐based sample with and without respect to visceral fat.

A flippase‐independent function of ATP8B1, the protein affected in familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1, is required for apical protein expression and microvillus formation in polarized epithelial cells

Patricia M. Verhulst, Lieke M. van der Velden, Viola Oorschot, Ernst E. van Faassen, Judith Klumperman, Roderick H. J. Houwen, Thomas G. Pomorski, Joost C. M. Holthuis, Leo W. J. Klomp – 23 May 2010 – Mutations in ATP8B1 cause familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1, a spectrum of disorders characterized by intrahepatic cholestasis, reduced growth, deafness, and diarrhea.

The incidence and risk factors of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Mustafa S. Ascha, Ibrahim A. Hanouneh, Rocio Lopez, Tarek Abu‐Rajab Tamimi, Ariel F. Feldstein, Nizar N. Zein – 23 May 2010 – Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a well‐recognized cause of cirrhosis and has been increasingly associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

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