Antiviral activity and safety of LB80380 in hepatitis B e antigen–positive chronic hepatitis B patients with lamivudine‐resistant disease

Man‐Fung Yuen, Kwang‐Hyub Han, Soon‐Ho Um, Seung Kew Yoon, Hye‐Ryon Kim, John Kim, Chung Ryeol Kim, Ching‐Lung Lai – 30 November 2009 – We aimed to determine the antiviral activity and safety of a new nucleotide analogue, LB80380, in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with lamivudine‐resistant virus. Sixty‐five patients with lamivudine‐resistant virus were randomized to receive five ascending daily doses (30, 60, 90, 150, 240 mg) of LB80380. LB80380 was given together with lamivudine for the first 4 weeks, followed by 8 weeks of LB80380 monotherapy.

Hepatitis B virus infection among American patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection: Prevalence, racial/ethnic differences, and viral interactions

Edmund J. Bini, Ponni V. Perumalswami – 30 November 2009 – Little is known about hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the United States. We prospectively enrolled 1,257 patients with chronic HCV infection from two medical centers in New York City. A total of 61.5% (95% confidence interval, 58.8%–64.2%) had evidence of prior exposure to HBV (hepatitis B core antibody–positive), whereas 5.8% (95% confidence interval, 4.5%–7.1%) had dual infection with HBV (hepatitis B surface antigen–positive).

5‐lipoxygenase deficiency reduces hepatic inflammation and tumor necrosis factor α–induced hepatocyte damage in hyperlipidemia‐prone ApoE‐null mice

Marcos Martínez‐Clemente, Natàlia Ferré, Ana González‐Périz, Marta López‐Parra, Raquel Horrillo, Esther Titos, Eva Morán‐Salvador, Rosa Miquel, Vicente Arroyo, Colin D. Funk, Joan Clària – 30 November 2009 – The actual risk factors that drive hepatic inflammation during the transition from steatosis to steatohepatitis are unknown. We recently demonstrated that hyperlipidemia‐prone apolipoprotein E–deficient (ApoE−/−) mice exhibit hepatic steatosis and increased susceptibility to hepatic inflammation and advanced fibrosis.

Expression of pituitary tumor–transforming gene 1 (PTTG1)/securin in hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐associated liver diseases: Evidence for an HBV X protein–mediated inhibition of PTTG1 ubiquitination and degradation

Francisca Molina‐Jiménez, Ignacio Benedicto, Miki Murata, Samuel Martín‐Vílchez, Toshihito Seki, José Antonio Pintor‐Toro, María Tortolero, Ricardo Moreno‐Otero, Kazuichi Okazaki, Kazuhiko Koike, José Luchi Barbero, Koichi Matsuzaki, Pedro L. Majano, Manuel López‐Cabrera – 30 November 2009 – Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is strongly associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and the viral HBx protein plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of liver tumors.

Oncogenic and tumor suppressive roles of polo‐like kinases in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Rossella Pellegrino, Diego F. Calvisi, Sara Ladu, Volker Ehemann, Tommaso Staniscia, Matthias Evert, Frank Dombrowski, Peter Schirmacher, Thomas Longerich – 30 November 2009 – Polo‐like kinase (PLK) proteins play critical roles in the control of cell cycle progression, either favoring or inhibiting cell proliferation, and in DNA damage response. Although either overexpression or down‐regulation of PLK proteins occurs frequently in various cancer types, no comprehensive analysis on their function in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been performed to date.

MicroRNA‐30d promotes tumor invasion and metastasis by targeting Galphai2 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Jian Yao, Linhui Liang, Shenglin Huang, Jie Ding, Ning Tan, Yingjun Zhao, Mingxia Yan, Chao Ge, Zhenfeng Zhang, Taoyang Chen, Dafang Wan, Ming Yao, Jinjun Li, Jianren Gu, Xianghuo He – 30 November 2009 – The pathological relevance and significance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in hepatocarcinogenesis have attracted much attention in recent years; however, little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms through which miRNAs are involved in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Lactoferrin protects against acetaminophen‐induced liver injury in mice

Hao Yin, Linling Cheng, Michael Holt, Numsen Hail, Robert MacLaren, Cynthia Ju – 30 November 2009 – Acetaminophen‐induced liver injury (AILI) is a significant health problem and represents the most frequent cause of drug‐induced liver failure in the United States. The development and implementation of successful therapeutic intervention strategies have been demanding, due to significant limitations associated with the current treatment for AILI. Lactoferrin (Lac), a glycoprotein present in milk, has been demonstrated to possess a multitude of biological functions.

Routine microsurgical biliary reconstruction decreases early anastomotic complications in living donor liver transplantation

Tsan‐Shiun Lin, Allan M. Concejero, Chao‐Long Chen, Yuan‐Cheng Chiang, Chih‐Chi Wang, Shih‐Ho Wang, Yueh‐Wei Liu, Chin‐Hsiang Yang, Chee‐Chien Yong, Bruno Jawan, Yu‐Fan Cheng – 24 November 2009 – Biliary reconstruction using a microsurgical technique in living donor liver transplantation was routinely performed on 88 grafts primarily transplanted into 85 patients. All procedures were performed under a microscope by a single microsurgeon. Except for biliary atresia and Alagille syndrome, duct‐to‐duct reconstruction was performed. Stents were not used.

Effect of pretransplant serum creatinine on the survival benefit of liver transplantation

Pratima Sharma, Douglas E. Schaubel, Mary K. Guidinger, Robert M. Merion – 24 November 2009 – More candidates with creatinine levels ≥ 2 mg/dL have undergone liver transplantation (LT) since the implementation of Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD)–based allocation. These candidates have higher posttransplant mortality. This study examined the effect of serum creatinine on survival benefit among candidates undergoing LT. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients data were analyzed for adult LT candidates listed between September 2001 and December 2006 (n = 38,899).

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