Hui‐Ling Ko, Ee‐Chee Ren – 30 June 2011 – It is well‐established that hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but patients with high viral DNA load have significantly higher risk. As host factors are required for efficient viral replication and may, therefore, contribute to high viral DNA load, we screened for host factors that can transcriptionally activate the HBV core promoter (HBVCP).

Qiuju Han, Cai Zhang, Jian Zhang, Zhigang Tian – 30 June 2011 – It is extensively accepted that hepatitis B virus (HBV) escapes from innate immunity by inhibiting type I interferon (IFN) production, but efficient intervention to reverse the immune tolerance is still not achieved.

Francesco Marabita, Alessio Aghemo, Stella De Nicola, Maria G. Rumi, Cristina Cheroni, Rossana Scavelli, Marco Crimi, Roberta Soffredini, Sergio Abrignani, Raffaele De Francesco, Massimo Colombo – 30 June 2011 – Polymorphisms in the interleukin‐28B (IL28B) region are associated with spontaneous and treatment‐induced viral clearance in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Nevertheless, it is unknown whether genetic variation at the IL28B locus influences the natural history of chronic HCV infection.

Ezequiel Ridruejo, Raúl Adrover, Marcelo O. Silva – 30 June 2011

Takayuki Kogure, Wen‐Lang Lin, Irene K. Yan, Chiara Braconi, Tushar Patel – 30 June 2011 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by a propensity for multifocality, growth by local spread, and dysregulation of multiple signaling pathways. These features may be determined by the tumoral microenvironment. The potential of tumor cells to modulate HCC growth and behavior by secreted proteins has been extensively studied. In contrast, the potential for genetic modulation is poorly understood.

Michael D. Thompson, Emily D. Wickline, William B. Bowen, Amy Lu, Sucha Singh, Amalea Misse, Satdarshan P.S. Monga – 30 June 2011 – Prolonged exposure of mice to diet containing 0.1% 3,5‐diethoxycarbonyl‐1,4‐dihydrocollidine (DDC) results in hepatobiliary injury, atypical ductular proliferation, oval cell appearance, and limited fibrosis. Previously, we reported that short‐term ingestion of DDC diet by hepatocyte‐specific β‐catenin conditional knockout (KO) mice led to fewer A6‐positive oval cells than wildtype (WT) littermates.

Robert M. Merion – 28 June 2011

Fei Liu, Yonggang Wei, Bo Li, Lvnan Yan – 28 June 2011

Christophe Duvoux, Tetsuya Kiuchi, Bernhard Pestalozzi, Ronald Busuttil, Rebecca Miksad – 28 June 2011

Annette S. H. Gouw, Charles Balabaud, Hironori Kusano, Satoru Todo, Takafumi Ichida, Masamichi Kojiro – 28 June 2011