Boris Blechacz, Gregory J. Gores – 20 June 2008

Naoya Matsunaga, Misaki Ikeda, Takako Takiguchi, Satoru Koyanagi, Shigehiro Ohdo – 20 June 2008 – Cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) is clinically and toxicologically important and exhibits 24‐hour periodicity in its activity. In the present study, we investigated whether hepatic nuclear factor‐1α (HNF‐1α) and clock genes with a striking 24‐hour rhythm in mouse liver contributed to the 24‐hour regulation of CYP2E1 expression. The results demonstrated that the expression of CYP2E1 messenger RNA (mRNA) in the liver was affected by HNF‐1α and the circadian organization of molecular clocks.

Pere Ginès, Florence Wong, Hugh Watson, Slobodan Milutinovic, Luis Ruiz del Arbol, Dan Olteanu, HypoCAT study investigators – 20 June 2008 – Hyponatremia in cirrhosis is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and complicates ascites management. Vasopressin receptor antagonists improve serum sodium concentration by increasing renal solute‐free water excretion, but their effects on the management of ascites have not been assessed.

Rebecca A. Harris, Kazushi Sugimoto, David E. Kaplan, Fusao Ikeda, Malek Kamoun, Kyong‐Mi Chang – 20 June 2008 – The outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been associated with antiviral CD4 T cell response, human leukocyte antigens (HLA) class II genotypes, and ethnicity. However, HLA class II molecules restrict the nature of CD4 T cell response, and HLA distributions differ between ethnic groups.

Leonardo L. Schiavon, Roberto J. Carvalho‐Filho, Janaína L. Narciso‐Schiavon, Denize V. Barbosa, Valéria P. Lanzoni, Maria Lucia G. Ferraz, Antonio Eduardo B. Silva – 20 June 2008

Gang Hu, Jaakko Tuomilehto, Eero Pukkala, Timo Hakulinen, Riitta Antikainen, Erkki Vartiainen, Pekka Jousilahti – 20 June 2008 – Only three Japanese prospective studies have suggested an inverse association between coffee drinking and liver cancer risk. No prospective studies on the association between serum gamma‐glutamyltransferase (GGT) and liver cancer risk have been reported. We aimed to determine the single and joint associations of coffee consumption and serum GGT with the risk of primary liver cancer.

Ekihiro Seki, David A. Brenner – 20 June 2008 – Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition receptors that recognize pathogen‐associated molecular patterns and signal through adaptor molecules, myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), Toll/IL‐1 receptor domain containing adaptor protein (TIRAP), Toll/IL‐1 receptor domain containing adaptor inducing interferon‐β (TRIF), and TRIF‐related adaptor molecule (TRAM) to activate transcription factors, nuclear factor (NF)‐κB, activator protein 1 (AP‐1), and interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) leading to the initiation of innate immunity.

Carlo Pulitanò, Akihiko Kobayashi, Luca Aldrighetti – 20 June 2008

Motoko Sasaki, Hiroko Ikeda, Junpei Yamaguchi, Satoko Nakada, Yasuni Nakanuma – 20 June 2008 – Telomere shortening is a trigger of cellular senescence. Biliary epithelial cells in damaged small bile ducts in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) show senescent features such as the expression of senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase and the increased expression of p16INK4a and p21WAF1/Cip1. We investigated whether the telomere shortening is involved in the pathogenesis of biliary cellular senescence in PBC.

Masafumi Uno, Seiichiro Kurita, Hirofumi Misu, Hitoshi Ando, Tsuguhito Ota, Naoto Matsuzawa‐Nagata, Yuki Kita, Satoko Nabemoto, Hiroshi Akahori, Yoh Zen, Yasuni Nakanuma, Shuichi Kaneko, Toshinari Takamura – 20 June 2008 – Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the progressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and is one of the most common liver diseases in the developed world. The histological findings of NASH are characterized by hepatic steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis. However, an optimal treatment for NASH has not been established.