Haresh Mani, David E. Kleiner – 27 April 2009 – Liver biopsy plays a central role in treatment algorithms in patients with hepatitis B and remains the gold standard for evaluating hepatic pathology. The pathology of hepatitis B is diverse and reflects the natural history of infection. An acute hepatitic pattern with lobular disarray is seen in acute infection, during acute flares of disease, and with acute hepatitis D superinfection. In chronic hepatitis B, inflammation is less pronounced in the immune‐tolerant phase and is prominent during immune‐mediated viral clearance.

Cindy M. Weinbaum, Eric E. Mast, John W. Ward – 27 April 2009 – Early identification of persons with chronic HBV infection enables infected persons to receive necessary care to prevent or delay onset of liver disease, and enables the identification and vaccination of susceptible household contacts and sex partners, interrupting ongoing transmission.

Chien‐Jen Chen, Hwai‐I Yang, Uchenna H. Iloeje, The REVEAL‐HBV Study Group – 27 April 2009 – Serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels can fluctuate markedly during the course of chronic HBV infection. Both case‐control and cohort studies have shown a significant, dose‐response association between serum HBV DNA levels measured at the time of initial evaluation and the subsequent risk of cirrhosis. A similar direct relationship has been shown for the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cross‐sectional, case‐control, and cohort studies.

Edward C. Doo, Jay H. Hoofnagle – 27 April 2009

Zoltan G. Hevesi, Sergei Y. Lopukhin, Joshua D. Mezrich, Adin‐Cristian Andrei, Minjung Lee – 27 April 2009

Sheung Tat Fan, Haibo Wang, Banny K. Lam – 27 April 2009 – The outcome of liver transplantation in China remains speculative. From 1998 to 2007, 177 adult Hong Kong patients underwent liver transplantation in China and were subsequently followed up at Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. One hundred six (59.9%) patients had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The grafts were probably derived from uncontrolled non–heart‐beating donors. The 1‐month mortality rate was 4.0%. The 1‐, 3‐, and 5‐year overall survival rates were 73.9%, 59.0%, and 53.9%, respectively.

Tariq G. Fellous, Shahriar Islam, Paul J. Tadrous, George Elia, Hemant M. Kocher, Satyajit Bhattacharya, Lisa Mears, Douglas M. Turnbull, Robert W. Taylor, Laura C. Greaves, Patrick F. Chinnery, Geoffery Taylor, Stuart A.C. McDonald, Nicholas A. Wright, Malcolm R. Alison – 27 April 2009 – We have used immunohistochemical and histochemical techniques to identify patches of hepatocytes deficient in the enzyme cytochrome c oxidase, a component of the electron transport chain and encoded by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).

Brigid Joseph, Sorabh Kapoor, Michael L. Schilsky, Sanjeev Gupta – 27 April 2009 – Insights into disease‐specific mechanisms for liver repopulation are needed for cell therapy. To understand the efficacy of pro‐oxidant hepatic perturbations in Wilson disease, we studied Long‐Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats with copper toxicosis under several conditions. Hepatocytes from healthy Long‐Evans Agouti (LEA) rats were transplanted intrasplenically into the liver.

Nanette von Oppen, Anna Schurich, Silke Hegenbarth, Dirk Stabenow, Rene Tolba, Ralf Weiskirchen, Albert Geerts, Waldemar Kolanus, Percy Knolle, Linda Diehl – 27 April 2009 – Peripheral CD8 T‐cell tolerance can be generated outside lymphatic tissue in the liver, but the course of events leading to tolerogenic interaction of hepatic cell populations with circulating T‐cells remain largely undefined.

Wei‐Chih Tsai, Paul Wei‐Che Hsu, Tsung‐Ching Lai, Gar‐Yang Chau, Ching‐Wen Lin, Chun‐Ming Chen, Chien‐Der Lin, Yu‐Lun Liao, Jui‐Ling Wang, Yat‐Pang Chau, Ming‐Ta Hsu, Michael Hsiao, Hsien‐Da Huang, Ann‐Ping Tsou – 27 April 2009 – MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which are inhibitors of gene expression, participate in diverse biological functions and in carcinogenesis. In this study, we show that liver‐specific microRNA‐122 (miR‐122) is significantly down‐regulated in liver cancers with intrahepatic metastastasis and negatively regulates tumorigenesis.