Samad Amini‐Bavil‐Olyaee, Ulf Herbers, Julie Sheldon, Tom Luedde, Christian Trautwein, Frank Tacke – 27 March 2009 – Tenofovir is a new effective treatment option for patients with chronic hepatitis B, but could be potentially hampered by mutations in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase conferring drug resistance. Drug resistance may occur preferentially if long‐term administration is required, for example, in patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐negative HBV infection bearing precore (PC) and basal core promoter (BCP) mutations.

Maurizia Rossana Brunetto, Francesco Moriconi, Ferruccio Bonino, George K. K.

Anna Moles, Núria Tarrats, José C. Fernández‐Checa, Montserrat Marí – 27 March 2009 – Cathepsins have been best characterized in tumorigenesis and cell death and implicated in liver fibrosis; however, whether cathepsins directly regulate hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and proliferation, hence modulating their fibrogenic potential, is largely unknown. Here, we show that expression of cathepsin B (CtsB) and cathepsin D (CtsD) is negligible in quiescent HSCs but parallels the increase of α‐smooth muscle actin and transforming growth factor‐β during in vitro mouse HSC activation.

Xiaohua Li, Kaichun Wu, Daiming Fan – 27 March 2009

Matthew Hoare, Graeme Alexander – 27 March 2009

Evangelista Sagnelli, Nicola Coppola, Mariantonietta Pisaturo, Addolorata Masiello, Gilda Tonziello, Caterina Sagnelli, Vincenzo Messina, Pietro Filippini – 27 March 2009 – The impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) superinfection in hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic carriers was evaluated in a long‐term follow‐up study on 29 chronic anti‐HCV carriers with acute hepatitis B (AVH‐B) (Case group BC) and 29 anti‐HCV negative patients with AVH‐B (Control group B), pair‐matched for age (±5 years), sex, and risk factors for the acquisition of HBV infection.

Silvana Gaudieri, Andri Rauch, Katja Pfafferott, Eleanor Barnes, Wendy Cheng, Geoff McCaughan, Nick Shackel, Gary P. Jeffrey, Lindsay Mollison, Ross Baker, Hansjakob Furrer, Huldrych F. Günthard, Elizabeth Freitas, Isla Humphreys, Paul Klenerman, Simon Mallal, Ian James, Stuart Roberts, David Nolan, Michaela Lucas – 27 March 2009 – The efficacy of specifically targeted anti‐viral therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) (STAT‐C), including HCV protease and polymerase inhibitors, is limited by the presence of drug‐specific viral resistance mutations within the targeted proteins.

Stéphane Chevaliez, Magali Bouvier‐Alias, Laurent Castéra, Jean‐Michel Pawlotsky – 27 March 2009

Christian Mölleken, Barbara Sitek, Corinna Henkel, Gereon Poschmann, Bence Sipos, Sebastian Wiese, Bettina Warscheid, Christoph Broelsch, Markus Reiser, Scott L. Friedman, Ida Tornøe, Anders Schlosser, Günter Klöppel, Wolff Schmiegel, Helmut E. Meyer, Uffe Holmskov, Kai Stühler – 27 March 2009 – Hepatic cirrhosis is a life‐threatening disease arising from different chronic liver disorders. One major cause for hepatic cirrhosis is chronic hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis C is characterized by a highly variable clinical course, with at least 20% developing liver cirrhosis within 40 years.

Damien Lucidarme, Juliette Foucher, Brigitte Le Bail, Julien Vergniol, Laurent Castera, Clotilde Duburque, Gérard Forzy, Bernard Filoche, Patrice Couzigou, Victor de Lédinghen – 27 March 2009 – The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of success rate and interquartile range on the accuracy of transient elastography for the diagnostic of fibrosis in hepatitis C virus infection. Two‐hundred fifty‐four consecutive patients had liver stiffness measurements and liver biopsy of at least 15 mm.