Enzo Emanuele – 24 November 2008

Hannah R. Walden, John A. Kirby, Stephen J. Yeaman, Joe Gray, David E. Jones, Jeremy M. Palmer – 24 November 2008 – Lipoylated enzymes such as the E2 component of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC‐E2) are targets for autoreactive immune responses in primary biliary cirrhosis, with lipoic acid itself forming a component of the dominant auto‐epitopes. A candidate mechanism for the initiation of tolerance breakdown in this disease is immune recognition of neo‐antigens formed by xenobiotic substitution of normal proteins.

Bing‐Sheng Sun, Qiong‐Zhu Dong, Qing‐Hai Ye, Hai‐Jing Sun, Hu‐Liang Jia, Xiao‐Qun Zhu, Dao‐Yong Liu, Jie Chen, Qiong Xue, Hai‐Jun Zhou, Ning Ren, Lun‐Xiu Qin – 24 November 2008 – In our previous study, osteopontin (OPN) was identified as one of the leading genes that promote the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the mechanism by which OPN promotes metastasis of HCC is not understood. In this study, RNA interference mediated by viral vectors—which could induce a long‐lasting down‐regulation in gene expression—was applied to analyze the role of OPN in metastasis of HCC.

Atsushi Suzuki, Sayaka Sekiya, Makiko Onishi, Naoko Oshima, Hiroshi Kiyonari, Hiromitsu Nakauchi, Hideki Taniguchi – 24 November 2008 – The adult liver progenitor cells appear in response to several types of pathological liver injury, especially when hepatocyte replication is blocked. These cells are histologically identified as cells that express cholangiocyte markers and proliferate in the portal area of the hepatic lobule.

Lopa Mishra – 24 November 2008

Hermann E. Wasmuth, Christian Trautwein – 24 November 2008

Matthew Hoare, William T. H. Gelson, Simon M. Rushbrook, Martin D. Curran, Tracy Woodall, Nicholas Coleman, Susan E. Davies, Graeme J. M. Alexander – 24 November 2008 – It is unclear whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been eradicated or persists at a low level in HCV antibody–positive HCV RNA–negative individuals. The natural history and liver histology are not well characterized. One hundred seventy‐two HCV antibody–positive, serum HCV RNA–negative patients underwent diagnostic liver biopsy between 1992 and 2000 and were followed a median 7 years (range, 5–12).

Svetlana Marukian, Christopher T. Jones, Linda Andrus, Matthew J. Evans, Kimberly D. Ritola, Edgar D. Charles, Charles M. Rice, Lynn B. Dustin – 24 November 2008 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replicates primarily in the liver, but HCV RNA has been observed in association with other tissues and cells including B and T lymphocytes, monocytes, and dendritic cells. We have taken advantage of a recently described, robust system that fully recapitulates HCV entry, replication and virus production in vitro to re‐examine the issue of HCV infection of blood cell subsets.

Geraldine C. Diaz, Joan Prowda, Irene J. Lo, Gowthami M. Arepally, Neal Evans, Yvonne Wheeless, Benjamin Samstein, James V. Guarrera, John F. Renz – 24 November 2008 – Transplantation‐mediated alloimmune thrombocytopenia (TMAT) is donor‐derived thrombocytopenia following solid‐organ transplantation. To date, no clear consensus on the appropriateness of organ utilization from cadaver donors with a history of idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP) has emerged.

Petra Bochtler, Petra Riedl, Ivan Gomez, Reinhold Schirmbeck, Jörg Reimann – 24 November 2008 – Only small populations of nonactivated, nonproliferating Foxp3+ CD4 regulatory T cell (TR) cells are found in the nonparenchymal cell compartment of the mouse liver while liver‐draining celiac nodes contain expanded, activated TR cell populations (similar to other lymph nodes). Liver Foxp3+ CD4 TR cells suppress activation of T cell responses.