Iker Uriarte, Jesús M. Banales, Elena Sáez, Fabián Arenas, Ronald P. J. Oude Elferink, Jesús Prieto, Juan F. Medina – 23 October 2009 – Bicarbonate secretion from cholangiocytes is required for appropriate adjustment of primary canalicular bile along the biliary tract. In human and rat cholangiocytes, bicarbonate secretion is mediated by anion exchanger (AE) 2, an electroneutral Na+‐independent Cl−/HCO 3− AE also involved in intracellular pH (pHi) regulation. In Ae2a,b‐deficient mice, pHi is increased in lymphocytes and fibroblasts, whereas it is surprisingly normal in cholangiocytes.

Young Chul Kim, Mi‐Suk Park – 23 October 2009

Mehdi Mohamadnejad, Muhammad A. Sohail, Azuma Watanabe, Diane S. Krause, E. Scott Swenson, Wajahat Z. Mehal – 23 October 2009 – Bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have therapeutic potential in liver injury, but the signals responsible for MSC localization to sites of injury and initiation of differentiation are not known. Adenosine concentration is increased at sites of cellular injury and inflammation, and adenosine is known to signal a variety of cellular changes.

Edouard Tuaillon, Anne‐Marie Mondain, Fadi Meroueh, Laure Ottomani, Marie‐Christine Picot, Nicolas Nagot, Philippe Van de Perre, Jacques Ducos – 23 October 2009 – We investigated the performance of dried blood spots (DBS) in hepatitis C virus (HCV) diagnosis using modified commercial tests. Paired DBS and serum samples were collected from 200 patients: 100 patients with anti‐HCV antibodies (anti‐HCV), including 62 patients with detectable serum HCV RNA, and 100 patients without anti‐HCV.

Francois H. T. Duong, Verena Christen, Shanshan Lin, Markus H. Heim – 22 October 2009 – The molecular mechanisms underlying hepatocarcinogenesis in chronic viral hepatitis are poorly understood. A potential tumorigenic pathway could involve protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1), because both enzymes are dysregulated in chronic hepatitis C, and both enzymes have been involved in chromatin remodeling and DNA damage repair.

Xingshun Qi, Guohong Han, Jianhong Wang, Kaichun Wu, Daiming Fan – 22 October 2009

Masao Shinohara, Cheng Ji, Neil Kaplowitz – 22 October 2009 – Chronic ethanol infusion resulted in greater serum alanine aminotransferase elevation, lipid accumulation, necroinflammation, and focal hepatic cell death in mice than rats. Mice exhibited a remarkable hyperhomocysteinemia but no increase was seen in rats. Similarly, a high‐methionine low‐folate diet (HMLF) induced less steatosis, serum alanine aminotransferase increase, and hyperhomocysteinemia in rats than in mice.

Wei‐Dong Chen, Yan‐Dong Wang, Lisheng Zhang, Steven Shiah, Meihua Wang, Fan Yang, Donna Yu, Barry M. Forman, Wendong Huang – 22 October 2009 – Elucidating the mechanism of liver regeneration could lead to life‐saving therapy for a large number of patients, especially elderly patients, after segmental liver transplantation or resection of liver tumors. The forkhead box m1b (Foxm1b) transcription factor is required for normal liver regeneration.

Takahiro Negishi, Yoko Nagai, Yoichi Asaoka, Mami Ohno, Misako Namae, Hiroshi Mitani, Takashi Sasaki, Nobuyoshi Shimizu, Shuji Terai, Isao Sakaida, Hisato Kondoh, Toshiaki Katada, Makoto Furutani‐Seiki, Hiroshi Nishina – 22 October 2009 – During vertebrate embryogenesis, the liver develops at a precise location along the endodermal primitive gut tube because of signaling delivered by adjacent mesodermal tissues. Although several signaling molecules have been associated with liver formation, the molecular mechanism that regulates liver specification is still unclear.

Marina Núñez – 22 October 2009