Is the iron donor lipocalin 2 implicated in the pathophysiology of hereditary hemochromatosis?

Hua Huang, Shizuo Akira, Manuela M. Santos – 24 February 2009 – Under normal conditions, iron is taken up by the cells through the transferrin‐mediated pathway. However, in hereditary hemochromatosis, a common iron‐overloading disorder associated with mutations in the HFE gene, iron in plasma exceeds transferrin‐binding capacity, and non–transferrin‐bound iron (NTBI) appears in the circulation of patients with iron overload. NTBI can be taken up by hepatocytes through a transferrin‐independent pathway.

HCV796: A selective nonstructural protein 5B polymerase inhibitor with potent anti‐hepatitis C virus activity In Vitro, in mice with chimeric human livers, and in humans infected with hepatitis C virus

Norman M. Kneteman, Anita Y. M. Howe, Tiejun Gao, Jamie Lewis, Dan Pevear, Gary Lund, Donna Douglas, David F. Mercer, D. Lorne J. Tyrrell, Frederick Immermann, Inder Chaudhary, John Speth, Stephen A. Villano, John O'Connell, Marc Collett – 24 February 2009 – Anti‐hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug development has been challenged by a lack of experience with inhibitors inclusive of in vitro, animal model, and clinical study.

The Marburg I variant (G534E) of the factor VII–activating protease determines liver fibrosis in hepatitis C infection by reduced proteolysis of platelet‐derived growth factor BB

Hermann E. Wasmuth, Carmen G. Tag, Eddie Van de Leur, Claus Hellerbrand, Tobias Mueller, Thomas Berg, Gero Puhl, Peter Neuhaus, Didier Samuel, Christian Trautwein, Sandip M. Kanse, Ralf Weiskirchen – 24 February 2009 – Genetic risk factors play an important role for the progression of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but functional data on specific alleles and their related proteins are limited.

Efficient hepatocyte engraftment and long‐term transgene expression after reversible portal embolization in nonhuman primates

Ibrahim Dagher, Tuan Huy Nguyen, Marie‐Thérèse Groyer‐Picard, Panagiotis Lainas, Sylvie Mainot, Catherine Guettier, Danièle Pariente, Dominique Franco, Anne Weber – 24 February 2009 – The feasibility of ex vivo gene therapy as an alternative to liver transplantation for the treatment of liver metabolic diseases needs to be analyzed in large animal models. This approach requires appropriate gene transfer vectors and effective hepatocyte engraftment.

Apotopes and the biliary specificity of primary biliary cirrhosis

Ana Lleo, Carlo Selmi, Pietro Invernizzi, Mauro Podda, Ross L. Coppel, Ian R. Mackay, Gregory J. Gores, Aftab A. Ansari, Judy Van de Water, M. Eric Gershwin – 24 February 2009 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is characterized by antimitochondrial antibodies (AMAs), directed to the E2 component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC‐E2). Notwithstanding the presence of mitochondria in virtually all nucleated cells, the destruction in PBC is limited to small intrahepatic bile ducts.

Early gene expression profiles of patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with pegylated interferon‐alfa and ribavirin

Zobair M. Younossi, Ancha Baranova, Arian Afendy, Rochelle Collantes, Maria Stepanova, Ganiraju Manyam, Anita Bakshi, Christopher L. Sigua, Joanne P. Chan, Ayuko A. Iverson, Christopher D. Santini, Sheng‐Yung P. Chang – 24 February 2009 – Responsiveness to hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy depends on viral and host factors. Our aim was to assess sustained virologic response (SVR)‐associated early gene expression in patients with HCV receiving pegylated interferon‐alpha2a (PEG‐IFN‐α2a) or PEG‐IFN‐α2b and ribavirin with the duration based on genotypes.

Gene expression signatures of peripheral CD4+ T cells clearly discriminate between patients with acute and chronic hepatitis B infection

Nirupma TrehanPati, Robert Geffers, Sukriti, Syed Hissar, Peggy Riese, Tanja Toepfer, Jan Buer, Manoj Kumar, Carlos A. Guzman, Shiv Kumar Sarin – 24 February 2009 – CD4+ T and regulatory T cells (Tregs) seem to play a key role in persistence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, the molecular events by which Tregs exert their modulatory activity are largely unknown.

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