Evgeny Chichelnitskiy, Alexandros Vegiopoulos, Mauricio Berriel Diaz, Anja Ziegler, Anna Kleiman, Alexander Rauch, Jan Tuckermann, Stephan Herzig – 20 November 2009 – In mammals, proper maintenance of blood glucose levels within narrow limits is one of the most critical prerequisites for healthy energy homeostasis and body function. Consequently, hyper‐ and hypoglycemia represent hallmarks of severe metabolic pathologies, including type II diabetes and acute sepsis, respectively.

Valérie Haurie, Ludovic Ménard, Alexandra Nicou, Christian Touriol, Philippe Metzler, Jérémy Fernandez, Danièle Taras, Patrick Lestienne, Charles Balabaud, Paulette Bioulac‐Sage, Hervé Prats, Jessica Zucman‐Rossi, Jean Rosenbaum – 20 November 2009 – Reptin and Pontin are related ATPases associated with stoichiometric amounts in several complexes involved in chromatin remodeling, transcriptional regulation, and telomerase activity. We found that Reptin was up‐regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and that down‐regulation of Reptin led to growth arrest.

Jasmohan S. Bajaj, James B. Wade, Arun J. Sanyal – 20 November 2009

Jonel Trebicka, Martin Hennenberg, Andrea Schulze Pröbsting, Wim Laleman, Sabine Klein, Michaela Granzow, Frederik Nevens, Johan Zaagsma, Jörg Heller, Tilman Sauerbruch – 20 November 2009 – Increased intrahepatic resistance and splanchnic blood flow cause portal hypertension in liver cirrhosis. Nonselective β‐adrenoceptor (β‐AR) antagonists have beneficial effects on hyperdynamic circulation and are in clinical use. In this context, the role of the β3‐AR is undefined. Here we investigated their expression and role in portal hypertension in patients and rats with liver cirrhosis.

Dhiraj Tripathi, Peter C. Hayes – 20 November 2009

Manuel Romero‐Gómez, Ana Fernández‐Palacín, Conrado M. Fernández‐Rodriguez – 20 November 2009

Feng Chen, Norifumi Ohashi, Wensheng Li, Christopher Eckman, Justin H. Nguyen – 20 November 2009 – Brain edema in acute liver failure (ALF) remains lethal. The role of vasogenic mechanisms of brain edema has not been explored. We previously demonstrated that matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) contributes to the pathogenesis of brain edema. Here, we show that MMP‐9 mediates disruptions in tight junction (TJ) proteins in vitro and in brains of mice with ALF.

Vinod K. Rustgi, William M. Lee, Eric Lawitz, Stuart C. Gordon, Nezam Afdhal, Fred Poordad, Herbert L. Bonkovsky, Leif Bengtsson, Gurudatt Chandorkar, Matthew Harding, Lindsay McNair, Molly Aalyson, John Alam, Robert Kauffman, Shahin Gharakhanian, John G.

Robert P. Myers, Abdel Aziz M. Shaheen, Andrew Fong, Kelly W. Burak, Alex Wan, Mark G. Swain, Robert J. Hilsden, Lloyd Sutherland, Hude Quan – 20 November 2009 – The recent epidemiology and outcomes of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) in North America are incompletely described, partly due to difficulties in case ascertainment. In light of their availability, broad coverage, and limited expense, administrative databases may facilitate such investigations.

Manal F. Abdelmalek, Schuyler O. Sanderson, Paul Angulo, Consuelo Soldevila‐Pico, Chen Liu, Joy Peter, Jill Keach, Matt Cave, Theresa Chen, Craig J. McClain, Keith D. Lindor – 20 November 2009 – Based on animal studies and pilot studies in humans, betaine, a methyl donor for the remethylation of homocysteine, may be a therapeutic agent for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We evaluated the safety and efficacy of betaine for patients with NASH and whether betaine positively modified factors postulated to be “second hits” and underlying mechanisms of NASH.