Dirk Stabenow, Marianne Frings, Christina Trück, Katja Gärtner, Irmgard Förster, Christian Kurts, Thomas Tüting, Margarete Odenthal, Hans‐Peter Dienes, Karin Cederbrant, Ulrike Protzer, Percy A. Knolle – 26 March 2010 – In vivo evaluation of CD8 T cell effector (cytotoxic T lymphocyte [CTL]) function in peripheral organs such as the liver is currently not possible but would greatly improve our understanding of local immune regulation, because simple determination of antigen‐specific CTL numbers does not predict the outcome of immune responses.

Agustin Castiella, Eva Zapata, Pedro Otazua, Leire Zubiaurre, Javier Fernandez – 26 March 2010

Da‐Wei Zhang, Huijie Bian – 26 March 2010

Christopher Soll, Jae Hwi Jang, Marc‐Oliver Riener, Wolfgang Moritz, Peter Johannes Wild, Rolf Graf, Pierre‐Alain Clavien – 26 March 2010 – In addition to its function as a neurotransmitter and vascular active molecule, serotonin is also a mitogen for hepatocytes and promotes liver regeneration. A possible role in hepatocellular cancer has not yet been investigated. Human hepatocellular cancer cell lines Huh7 and HepG2 were used to assess the function of serotonin in these cell lines.

Ann M. Thomas, Steven N. Hart, Bo Kong, Jianwen Fang, Xiao‐bo Zhong, Grace L. Guo – 26 March 2010 – Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a bile acid‐activated transcription factor belonging to the nuclear receptor superfamily. FXR is highly expressed in liver and intestine and crosstalk mediated by FXR in these two organs is critical in maintaining bile acid homeostasis. FXR deficiency has been implicated in many liver and intestine diseases. However, regulation of transcription by FXR at the genomic level is not known.

Hua Wang, Ogyi Park, Fouad Lafdil, Kezhen Shen, Norio Horiguchi, Shi Yin, Xin‐Yuan Fu, George Kunos, Bin Gao – 26 March 2010 – Liver regeneration triggered by two‐thirds partial hepatectomy is accompanied by elevated hepatic levels of endotoxin, which contributes to the regenerative process, but liver inflammation and apoptosis remain paradoxically limited.

Erin E. Sparks, Kari A. Huppert, Melanie A. Brown, M. Kay Washington, Stacey S. Huppert – 26 March 2010 – Alagille syndrome, a chronic hepatobiliary disease, is characterized by paucity of intrahepatic bile ducts (IHBDs). To determine the impact of Notch signaling specifically on IHBD arborization, we studied the influence of both chronic gain and loss of Notch function on the intact three‐dimensional IHBD structure using a series of mutant mouse models and a resin casting method.

Mirko Moreno Zaldivar, Katrin Pauels, Philipp von Hundelshausen, Marie‐Luise Berres, Petra Schmitz, Jörg Bornemann, M. Anna Kowalska, Nikolaus Gassler, Konrad L. Streetz, Ralf Weiskirchen, Christian Trautwein, Christian Weber, Hermann E. Wasmuth – 26 March 2010 – Liver fibrosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Platelets are involved in liver damage, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we investigate the platelet‐derived chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) ligand 4 (CXCL4) as a molecular mediator of fibrotic liver damage.

Luca Valenti, Ahmad Al‐Serri, Ann K. Daly, Enrico Galmozzi, Raffaela Rametta, Paola Dongiovanni, Valerio Nobili, Enrico Mozzi, Giancarlo Roviaro, Ester Vanni, Elisabetta Bugianesi, Marco Maggioni, Anna Ludovica Fracanzani, Silvia Fargion, Christopher P.

Ian N. Hines – 26 March 2010