Michelle Martinot‐Peignoux, Christiane Stern, Sarah Maylin, Marie‐Pierre Ripault, Nathalie Boyer, Laurence Leclere, Corinne Castelnau, Nathalie Giuily, Ahmed El Ray, Ana‐Carolina Cardoso, Rami Moucari, Tarik Asselah, Patrick Marcellin – 26 March 2010 – A sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients with chronic hepatitis C receiving pegylated interferon (PEG‐IFN) plus ribavirin is defined as undetectable serum HCV‐RNA at 24 weeks (W+24) posttreatment follow‐up. Viral load outcome in patients with virological relapse (VR) has not been explored.

Jonathan A. Dranoff, Rebecca G. Wells – 26 March 2010 – Portal fibroblasts are an important yet often overlooked nonparenchymal cell population in the liver. They are distinct from hepatic stellate cells, yet like stellate cells differentiate in the setting of chronic injury to fibrogenic myofibroblasts, playing an important role in collagen production in the fibrotic liver. Portal fibroblasts (PFs) are located adjacent to bile duct epithelia and thus play a particularly significant role in biliary fibrosis.

Kojiro Taura, Kouichi Miura, David Brenner – 26 March 2010

Richard D. Johnston, Ian A. MacDonald, Guruprasad P. Aithal – 26 March 2010

Tahany Awad, Kristian Thorlund, Goran Hauser, Davor Stimac, Mahasen Mabrouk, Christian Gluud – 26 March 2010 – A combination of weekly pegylated interferon (peginterferon) alpha and daily ribavirin represents the standard of care for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C according to current guidelines. It is not established which of the two licensed products (peginterferon alpha‐2a or peginterferon alfa‐2b) is most effective. We performed a systematic review of head‐to‐head randomized trials to assess the benefits and harms of the two treatments.

Susanne Knapp, Usama Warshow, Doha Hegazy, Louise Brackenbury, I. Neil Guha, Andrew Fowell, Ann‐Margaret Little, Graeme J. Alexander, William M.C. Rosenberg, Matthew E. Cramp, Salim I. Khakoo – 26 March 2010 – Natural killer cells are a key component in the immune control of viral infections. Their functions are controlled by inhibitory receptors for major histocompatability complex (MHC) class I, including the killer cell immunoglobulin‐like receptors (KIR).

Matthew Hennig, Michele T. Yip‐Schneider, Sabrina Wentz, Huangbing Wu, S. K. Hekmatyar, Patrick Klein, Navin Bansal, C. Max Schmidt – 26 March 2010 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cause of death from solid organ malignancy worldwide. Extracellular signal‐regulated/mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) signaling is a critical growth regulatory pathway in HCC. Targeting MEK with a novel small molecule inhibitor, PD0325901, may inhibit HCC tumorigenesis.

Nicholas J. Osborne, Lyle C. Gurrin, Katrina J. Allen, Clare C. Constantine, Martin B. Delatycki, Christine E. McLaren, Dorota M. Gertig, Gregory J. Anderson, Melissa C. Southey, John K. Olynyk, Lawrie W. Powell, John L. Hopper, Graham G. Giles, Dallas R. English – 26 March 2010 – The evidence that mutations in the HFE gene for hemochromatosis are associated with increased cancer risk is inconsistent. The Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study is a prospective cohort study that commenced recruitment in 1990.

Yoichiro Uchida, Bibo Ke, Maria Cecilia S. Freitas, Haofeng Ji, Danyun Zhao, Elizabeth R. Benjamin, Nader Najafian, Hideo Yagita, Hisaya Akiba, Ronald W. Busuttil, Jerzy W. Kupiec‐Weglinski – 26 March 2010 – The T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain‐containing molecules (TIM) protein family, which is expressed by T cells, plays a crucial role in regulating host adaptive immunity and tolerance. However, its role in local inflammation, such as innate immunity‐dominated organ ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI), remains unknown.

Beate Appenrodt, Frank Grünhage, Martin G. Gentemann, Lydia Thyssen, Tilman Sauerbruch, Frank Lammert – 26 March 2010 – Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), a severe complication in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis, has been attributed to bacterial translocation from the intestine. Variants of the NOD2 (nucleotide‐binding oligomerization domain containing 2) gene have been associated with impaired mucosal barrier function in Crohn disease. We hypothesized that the risk of acquiring SBP is increased in patients with cirrhosis carrying NOD2 variants.