Pratima Sharma, Kathy Welch, Richard Eikstadt, Jorge A. Marrero, Robert J. Fontana, Anna S. Lok – 28 August 2009 – The proportion of patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT) with renal insufficiency has significantly increased in the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) era. This study was designed to determine the incidence and predictors of post‐LT chronic renal failure (CRF) and its effect on patient survival in the MELD era. Outcomes of 221 adult LT recipients who had LT between February 2002 and February 2007 were reviewed retrospectively.

Peter G. Stock, John Fung – 28 August 2009

Javier Murillas, Antonio Rimola, Montserrat Laguno, Elisa de Lazzari, Javier Rascón, Fernando Agüero, José L. Blanco, Eduardo Moitinho, Asunción Moreno, José M. Miró, ESLD‐HIV Working Group Investigators – 28 August 2009 – End‐stage liver disease (ESLD) has become the main cause of mortality in patients coinfected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus in developed countries. The aim of this study was to describe the natural history of and prognostic factors for ESLD, with particular attention paid to features affecting liver transplantation.

Nghi B. Ha, Nghiem B. Ha, Ruel T. Garcia, Huy N. Trinh, Andrew A. Vu, Huy A. Nguyen, Khanh K. Nguyen, Brian S. Levitt, Mindie H. Nguyen – 27 August 2009 – Renal dysfunction has been reported in patients treated with adefovir dipivoxil (ADV); however, its incidence and clinical importance may be underappreciated given the lack of long‐term follow‐up and data outside of a clinical trial setting.

Masahiko Yano, Masanori Ikeda, Ken‐ichi Abe, Yoshinari Kawai, Misao Kuroki, Kyoko Mori, Hiromichi Dansako, Yasuo Ariumi, Shougo Ohkoshi, Yutaka Aoyagi, Nobuyuki Kato – 27 August 2009 – Recently, we reported that β‐carotene, vitamin D2, and linoleic acid inhibited hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA replication in hepatoma cells. Interestingly, in the course of the study, we found that the antioxidant vitamin E negated the anti‐HCV activities of these nutrients. These results suggest that the oxidative stress caused by the three nutrients is involved in their anti‐HCV activities.

Xia Wang, Debi P. Sarkar, Prashant Mani, Clifford J. Steer, Yong Chen, Chandan Guha, Voshavar Chandrasekhar, Arabinda Chaudhuri, Namita Roy‐Chowdhury, Betsy T. Kren, Jayanta Roy‐Chowdhury – 27 August 2009 – Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR)‐mediated endocytosis has been used to target genes to hepatocytes in vivo. However, the level and duration of transgene expression have been low because of lysosomal translocation and degradation of the DNA and lack of its integration into the host genome.

Dongling Li, Linghua Zheng, Lei Jin, Yuesu Zhou, Haiying Li, Junliang Fu, Ming Shi, Peishuang Du, Lizhong Wang, Hao Wu, Guo‐Yun Chen, Pan Zheng, Yang Liu, Fu‐Sheng Wang, Shengdian Wang – 27 August 2009 – T‐cell immunity to hepatitis B virus (HBV) is involved in both viral clearance and the pathogenesis of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma following chronic HBV infection. It is therefore of great interest to analyze whether genetic polymorphism of genes involved in the immune response may determine the outcomes of chronic HBV infection.

Amalia Gastaldelli, Giorgio Bedogni, Beverley Balkau – 27 August 2009

Sandra March, Elliot E. Hui, Gregory H. Underhill, Salman Khetani, Sangeeta N. Bhatia – 27 August 2009 – Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) differ, both structurally and functionally, from endothelial cells (ECs) lining blood vessels of other tissues. For example, in contrast to other ECs, LSECs possess fenestrations, have low detectable levels of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 expression, and in rat tissue, they distinctively express a cell surface marker recognized by the SE‐1 antibody.

Bastian Hoechst, Torsten Voigtlaender, Lars Ormandy, Jaba Gamrekelashvili, Fei Zhao, Heiner Wedemeyer, Frank Lehner, Michael P. Manns, Tim F. Greten, Firouzeh Korangy – 27 August 2009 – Several immune suppressive mechanisms that evade the host immune response have been described in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); one of these mechanisms is expansion of myeloid‐derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). MDSCs have been shown to inhibit T cell responses in tumor‐bearing mice, but little is known about these cells in humans.