Moira Marcolongo, Bradford Young, Francesca Dal Pero, Giovanna Fattovich, Laura Peraro, Maria Guido, Giada Sebastiani, Giorgio Palù, Alfredo Alberti – 28 September 2009 – Fibrosis progression is the main determinant of liver disease outcome in chronic hepatitis C, being influenced by environmental and host factors. Recently, a cirrhosis risk score (CRS) based on seven single‐nucleotide polymorphisms was proposed as genetic predictor of cirrhosis in hepatitis C.

Harmen Wiersma, Alberto Gatti, Niels Nijstad, Ronald P. J. Oude Elferink, Folkert Kuipers, Uwe J. F. Tietge – 28 September 2009 – Scavenger receptor class B type I (SR‐BI) mediates selective uptake of cholesterol from high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) particles by the liver and influences biliary cholesterol secretion. However, it is not clear, if this effect is direct or indirect. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of SR‐BI on biliary cholesterol secretion, especially in a functional context with ATP‐binding cassette transporter g5 (Abcg5)/Abcg8 and Abcb4.

Astrid Spruss, Giridhar Kanuri, Sabine Wagnerberger, Synia Haub, Stephan C. Bischoff, Ina Bergheim – 28 September 2009 – A link between dietary fructose intake, gut‐derived endotoxemia, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been suggested by the results of human and animal studies. To further investigate the role of gut‐derived endotoxin in the onset of fructose‐induced NAFLD, Toll‐like receptor (TLR‐) 4‐mutant (C3H/HeJ) mice and wildtype (C3H/HouJ) mice were either fed plain water or water enriched with 30% fructose for 8 weeks.

Sophie C. Cazanave, Gregory J. Gores – 28 September 2009

Marianne K. DeGorter, Richard B. Kim – 28 September 2009

Richard M. Dubinsky, Anthony C. Stein – 28 September 2009

Banchob Sripa, Eimorn Mairiang, Bandit Thinkhamrop, Thewarach Laha, Sasithorn Kaewkes, Paiboon Sithithaworn, Smarn Tessana, Alex Loukas, Paul J. Brindley, Jeffrey M. Bethony – 28 September 2009 – More than 750 million people are at risk of infection with foodborne liver flukes. Opisthorchis viverrini is considered among the most important of these parasites, due to its strong association with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). O.

Tzu‐Min Hung, Shin C. Chang, Wei‐Hsuan Yu, Yu‐Wen Wang, Cheng Huang, Shao‐Chun Lu, Po‐Huang Lee, Ming‐Fu Chang – 28 September 2009 – Liver cirrhosis is characterized by progressive accumulation of extracellular matrix following chronic liver injuries. In the extracellular space, the constant turnover of liver matrix is regulated by the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) class of enzyme. To assess whether genetic variations in MMP would result in diversity of liver cirrhosis, a case‐control study of 320 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, with or without cirrhosis, was conducted.

Kathleen E. Corey, Erin Kane, Craig Munroe, Lydia L. Barlow, Hui Zheng, Raymond T. Chung – 28 September 2009 – Hepatitis C associated hypolipidemia has been demonstrated in studies from Europe and Africa. In two linked studies, we evaluated the relationship between hepatitis C infection and treatment with lipid levels in an American cohort and determined the frequency of clinically significant posttreatment hyperlipidemia. First, a case‐control analysis of patients with and without hepatitis C was performed. The HCV Group consisted of 179 infected patients.

Stuart K. Roberts, Martin D. Weltman, Darrell H. G. Crawford, Geoffrey W. McCaughan, William Sievert, Wendy S. Cheng, William Rawlinson, Paul V. Desmond, Phillipa S. Marks, Motoko Yoshihara, Bishoy Rizkalla, Jean K. DePamphilis, Gregory J. Dore, Chariot Study Group – 28 September 2009 – This study tested the hypothesis that high‐dose peginterferon alfa‐2a (PEG‐IFNα‐2a) for the first 12 weeks would increase early and sustained virological response (SVR) rates in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1.