Complementary vascular and matrix regulatory pathways underlie the beneficial mechanism of action of sorafenib in liver fibrosis

Dominique Thabut, Chittaranjan Routray, Gwen Lomberk, Uday Shergill, Kevin Glaser, Robert Huebert, Leena Patel, Tetyana Masyuk, Boris Blechacz, Andrew Vercnocke, Erik Ritman, Richard Ehman, Raul Urrutia, Vijay Shah – 12 May 2011 – Paracrine signaling between hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and liver endothelial cells (LECs) modulates fibrogenesis, angiogenesis, and portal hypertension. However, mechanisms regulating these processes are not fully defined.

A key role for Pre–B cell colony–enhancing factor in experimental hepatitis

Alexander R. Moschen, Romana Gerner, Andrea Schroll, Teresa Fritz, Arthur Kaser, Herbert Tilg – 12 May 2011 – Pre–B cell colony–enhancing factor (PBEF), also known as nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase or visfatin, plays an important role in metabolic, inflammatory, and malignant diseases. Recent evidence suggests that blocking its enzymatic activity using a specific small‐molecule inhibitor (FK866) might be beneficial in acute experimental inflammation. We investigated the role of PBEF in human liver disease and experimental hepatitis.

Obesity is an independent risk factor for clinical decompensation in patients with cirrhosis

Annalisa Berzigotti, Guadalupe Garcia‐Tsao, Jaime Bosch, Norman D. Grace, Andrew K. Burroughs, Rosa Morillas, Angels Escorsell, Juan Carlos Garcia‐Pagan, David Patch, Daniel S. Matloff, Roberto J. Groszmann, the Portal Hypertension Collaborative Group – 12 May 2011 – Obesity is associated with an aggressive course in chronic viral hepatitis; however, its impact in the development of clinical decompensation (CD) in patients with established cirrhosis is uncertain.

Hyperhomocysteinemia from trimethylation of hepatic phosphatidylethanolamine during cholesterol cholelithogenesis in inbred mice

Ji Zhang, Diane E. Handy, Yufang Wang, Guylaine Bouchard, Jacob Selhub, Joseph Loscalzo, Martin C. Carey – 12 May 2011 – Because hyperhomocysteinemia can occur in cholesterol gallstone disease, we hypothesized that this may result from trimethylation of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), which partakes in biliary phosphatidylcholine (PC) hypersecretion during cholesterol cholelithogenesis.

Carcinogen‐induced hepatic tumors in KLF6+/− mice recapitulate aggressive human hepatocellular carcinoma associated with p53 pathway deregulation

Mirko Tarocchi, Rebekka Hannivoort, Yujin Hoshida, Ursula E. Lee, Diana Vetter, Goutham Narla, Augusto Villanueva, Moshe Oren, Josep M. Llovet, Scott L. Friedman – 11 May 2011 – Inactivation of KLF6 is common in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, thereby abrogating its normal antiproliferative activity in liver cells. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of KLF6 depletion on human HCC and experimental hepatocarcinogenesis in vivo.

Liver transplantation in human immunodeficiency virus‐positive patients

Deepak Joshi, John O'Grady, Chris Taylor, Nigel Heaton, Kosh Agarwal – 11 May 2011 – With the successful introduction of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is now regarded as a chronic illness with excellent long‐term outcomes. However, chronic exposure to viral etiologies (ie, chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C) and drug‐induced toxicity secondary to cART have resulted in increasing rates of mortality and morbidity due to end‐stage liver disease.

Subscribe to