Carol J. Soroka, Albert Mennone, Lee R. Hagey, Nazzareno Ballatori, James L. Boyer – 23 December 2009 – Organic solute transporter alpha‐beta (Ostα‐Ostβ) is a heteromeric bile acid and sterol transporter that facilitates the enterohepatic and renal‐hepatic circulation of bile acids. Hepatic expression of this basolateral membrane protein is increased in cholestasis, presumably to facilitate removal of toxic bile acids from the liver. In this study, we show that the cholestatic phenotype induced by common bile duct ligation (BDL) is reduced in mice genetically deficient in Ostα.

Michael J. Englesbe, James Kubus, Wajee Muhammad, Christopher J. Sonnenday, Theodore Welling, Jeffrey D. Punch, Raymond J. Lynch, Jorge A. Marrero, Shawn J. Pelletier – 23 December 2009 – The effects of occlusive portal vein thrombosis (PVT) on the survival of patients with cirrhosis are unknown. This was a retrospective cohort study at a single center. The main exposure variable was the presence of occlusive PVT. The primary outcome measure was time‐dependent mortality. A total of 3295 patients were analyzed, and 148 (4.5%) had PVT.

Hisashi Moriguchi, Raymond T Chung, Chifumi Sato – 23 December 2009

Dong‐Ming Kuang, Chen Peng, Qiyi Zhao, Yan Wu, Min‐Shan Chen, Limin Zheng – 23 December 2009 – Although cancer patients exhibit a generalized immunosuppressive status, substantial evidence indicates that the inflammatory reaction at a tumor site can promote tumor growth and progression. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is usually derived from inflamed cirrhotic liver with extensive leukocyte infiltration. We recently found that proinflammatory T helper (Th)17 cells are accumulated in HCC tissue, where they promote disease progression by fostering angiogenesis.

Chieko Saito, Claudia Zwingmann, Hartmut Jaeschke – 23 December 2009 – Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is a major cause of acute liver failure. The glutathione (GSH) precursor N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) is used to treat patients with APAP overdose for up to 48 hours. Although it is well established that early treatment with NAC can improve the scavenging of the reactive metabolite N‐acetyl‐p‐benzoquinone imine, protective mechanisms at later times remain unclear.

Pierre Pradat, Eric Trepo, Andrej Potthoff, Rakesh Bakshi, Bradford Young, Christian Trepo, Robert Lagier, Christophe Moreno, Arnaud Lemmers, Thierry Gustot, Delphine Degre, Michael Adler, Heiner Wedemeyer – 23 December 2009

Ana Paula Barreiros, Christian Geber, Frank Birklein, Peter R. Galle, Gerd Otto – 23 December 2009

23 December 2009

23 December 2009

Darjus F. Tschaharganeh, Michaela Kaldenbach, Stephanie Erschfeld, Jens J. W. Tischendorf, Christian Trautwein, Konrad L. Streetz – 23 December 2009 – Hepatocyte transplantation (HT) is still restricted by the limited amount of transplantable cells. Therefore, a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in cellular engraftment, proliferation, and in vivo selection is important. Here we aimed to evaluate the role of the interleukin 6 (IL‐6)/glycoprotein 130 (gp130) system for liver repopulation.