Noémi K. M. Van Hul, Jorge Abarca‐Quinones, Christine Sempoux, Yves Horsmans, Isabelle A. Leclercq – 27 April 2009 – In chronic liver injury, liver progenitor cells (LPCs) proliferate in the periportal area, migrate inside the lobule, and undergo further differentiation. This process is associated with extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. We analyzed LPC expansion and matrix accumulation in a choline‐deficient, ethionine‐supplemented (CDE) model of LPC proliferation. After day 3, CDE induced collagen deposits in the periportal area.

Manal M. Hassan, Ahmed Kaseb, Donghui Li, Yehuda Z. Patt, Jean‐Nicolas Vauthey, Melanie B. Thomas, Steven A. Curley, Margaret R. Spitz, Steven I. Sherman, Eddie K. Abdalla, Marta Davila, Richard D. Lozano, Deena M. Hassan, Wenyaw Chan, Thomas D. Brown, James L. Abbruzzese – 27 April 2009 – Thyroid hormones play an essential role in lipid mobilization, lipid degradation, and fatty acid oxidation.

Alan F. Hofmann – 27 April 2009 – An informal review of the author's five decades of research on the chemistry and biology of bile acids in health and disease is presented. The review begins with a discussion of bile acid structure and its remarkable diversity in vertebrates. Methods for tagging bile acids with tritium for metabolic or transport studies are summarized. Bile acids solubilize polar lipids in mixed micelles; progress in elucidating the structure of the mixed micelle is discussed.

James D. Perkins – 27 April 2009

Fawaz Almutairi, Theresa C. Peterson, Michele Molinari, Mark J. Walsh, Ian Alwayn, Kevork M. Peltekian – 27 April 2009 – Hypercholesterolemia is a common problem among transplant recipients. Despite package‐insert warnings about the potential side effects of the use of statins in patients with chronic liver disease, they are often prescribed for liver transplant recipients. Unlike statins, ezetimibe acts through inhibition of enterohepatic recirculation of lipids.

W. Ray Kim – 27 April 2009 – Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains an important cause of acute and chronic liver disease globally and in the United States. An encouraging trend is that the incidence of acute hepatitis B in the United States declined as much as 80% between 1987 and 2004, attributable to effective vaccination programs as well as universal precautions in needle use and in healthcare in general. Although encouraging, these decreases in acute infections have not translated into diminished prevalence or burden of chronic HBV infection.

Darrell H. G. Crawford, Grant A. Ramm – 27 April 2009

Brent C. Taylor, Jian‐Min Yuan, Tatyana A. Shamliyan, Aasma Shaukat, Robert L. Kane, Timothy J. Wilt – 27 April 2009 – We systematically reviewed the literature on the extent to which population characteristics or clinical features predict groups of individuals likely to develop advanced liver disease or die from chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Norah A. Terrault – 27 April 2009 – In successful antiviral therapy of hepatitis B, drug combinations, particularly combinations without cross‐resistance, can delay or prevent the emergence of drug‐resistant mutants. Because drug‐resistant mutants are archived and may limit future therapeutic options, prevention is important for long‐term therapeutic efficacy. Additionally, combining drugs may achieve synergistic or additive antiviral effects compared with single drug therapy.

Daniel J. Tenney, Ronald E. Rose, Carl J. Baldick, Kevin A. Pokornowski, Betsy J. Eggers, Jie Fang, Michael J. Wichroski, Dong Xu, Joanna Yang, Richard B. Wilber, Richard J. Colonno – 27 April 2009 – Patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection who develop antiviral resistance lose benefits of therapy and may be predisposed to further resistance. Entecavir (ETV) resistance (ETVr) results from HBV reverse transcriptase substitutions at positions T184, S202, or M250, which emerge in the presence of lamivudine (LVD) resistance substitutions M204I/V ± L180M.