Heidi Menrad, Christian Werno, Tobias Schmid, Ekaterini Copanaki, Thomas Deller, Nathalie Dehne, Bernhard Brüne – 23 May 2010 – Hypoxia‐inducible factors (HIFs) provoke adaptation to hypoxic stress occurring in rapidly growing tumor tissues. Therefore, overexpression of HIF‐1 or HIF‐2 is a common feature in hepatocellular carcinoma but their specific function is still controversially discussed. To analyze HIF function in hypoxia‐induced cell death we created a stable knockdown of HIF‐1α and HIF‐2α in HepG2 cells and generated tumor spheroids as an in vitro hepatocellular carcinoma model.

Alexander J.V. Thompson, Tin Nguyen, David Iser, Anna Ayres, Kathy Jackson, Margaret Littlejohn, John Slavin, Scott Bowden, Edward J. Gane, William Abbott, George K.K. Lau, Sharon R. Lewin, Kumar Visvanathan, Paul V. Desmond, Stephen A.

Jessica Wagoner, Amina Negash, Olivia J. Kane, Laura E. Martinez, Yaakov Nahmias, Nigel Bourne, David M. Owen, Joe Grove, Claire Brimacombe, Jane A. McKeating, Eve‐Isabelle Pécheur, Tyler N. Graf, Nicholas H. Oberlies, Volker Lohmann, Feng Cao, John E. Tavis, Stephen J. Polyak – 23 May 2010 – Silymarin, an extract from milk thistle (Silybum marianum), and its purified flavonolignans have been recently shown to inhibit hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, both in vitro and in vivo. In the current study, we further characterized silymarin's antiviral actions.

Salvatore Petta, Antonio Craxì – 23 May 2010

Xiaomin Pan, Susan Kelly, Hector Melin‐Aldana, Padmini Malladi, Peter F. Whitington – 23 May 2010 – Evidence suggests that most neonatal hemochromatosis (NH) is the phenotypic expression of gestational alloimmune fetal liver injury. Gestational alloimmune diseases are induced by the placental passage of specific reactive immunoglobulin G and often involve the activation of fetal complement by the classical pathway leading to the formation of membrane attack complex (MAC) as the effector of cell injury.

Richard K. Sterling – 23 May 2010

Maria Lauda Tomasi, Komal Ramani, Fernando Lopitz‐Otsoa, Manuel S. Rodríguez, Tony W. H. Li, Kwangsuk Ko, Heping Yang, Fawzia Bardag‐Gorce, Ainhoa Iglesias‐Ara, Francesco Feo, Maria Rosa Pascale, José M. Mato, Shelly C. Lu – 23 May 2010 – Increased mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity correlates with a more malignant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) phenotype. There is a reciprocal regulation between p44/42 MAPK (extracellular signal‐regulated kinase [ERK]1/2) and the dual‐specificity MAPK phosphatase MKP‐1/DUSP1.

Vincent Wai‐Sun Wong, Grace Lai‐Hung Wong, Kenneth Kar‐Lung Yan, Angel Mei‐Ling Chim, Hoi‐Yun Chan, Chi‐Hang Tse, Paul Cheung‐Lung Choi, Anthony Wing‐Hung Chan, Joseph Jao‐Yiu Sung, Henry Lik‐Yuen Chan – 23 May 2010 – Approximately 30%‐40% of patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive chronic hepatitis B treated with peginterferon and/or lamivudine achieve HBeAg seroconversion 6 months after the end of treatment. The durability and long‐term effect of treatment are unknown.

Diana B. Douglas, Daniel P. Beiting, John P. Loftus, Judith A. Appleton, Susan K. Bliss – 23 May 2010 – Mice lacking the immunoregulatory cytokine interleukin 10 (IL‐10) develop necrotizing hepatitis after infection with Trichinella spiralis, and inflammation is dependent on the migration of intestinally activated CD4+ T cells into the liver. Hepatic production of IL‐4 is elevated in these mice, and we hypothesized that it plays a role in the development of hepatic pathology.

Moreshwar S. Desai, Zainuer Shabier, Michael Taylor, Fong Lam, Sundararajah Thevananther, Astrid Kosters, Saul J. Karpen – 23 May 2010 – Cardiac dysfunction is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with end‐stage liver disease; yet the mechanisms remain largely unknown. We hypothesized that the complex interrelated impairments in cardiac structure and function secondary to progression of liver diseases involve alterations in signaling pathways engaged in cardiac energy metabolism and hypertrophy, augmented by direct effects of high circulating levels of bile acids.