Gina Choi, Marion G. Peters – 20 June 2008

Akio Matsumoto – 20 June 2008

Steven M. Kawut, Michael J. Krowka, James F. Trotter, Kari E. Roberts, Raymond L. Benza, David B. Badesch, Darren B. Taichman, Evelyn M. Horn, Steven Zacks, Neil Kaplowitz, Robert S. Brown, Michael B. Fallon, Pulmonary Vascular Complications of Liver Disease Study Group – 20 June 2008 – Portopulmonary hypertension affects up to 6% of patients with advanced liver disease, but the predictors and biologic mechanism for the development of this complication are unknown. We sought to determine the clinical risk factors for portopulmonary hypertension in patients with advanced liver disease.

Jian Zhao, Bin Lu, Hao Xu, Xin Tong, Guobin Wu, Xia Zhang, Anmin Liang, Wenming Cong, Jianxin Dai, Hao Wang, Mengchao Wu, Yajun Guo – 20 June 2008 – It has been previously demonstrated that the 30‐kDa Tat‐interacting protein (TIP30) plays an important role in the suppression of hepatocarcinogenesis by acting as a tumor suppressor. Here we report that TIP30 suppresses metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through inhibiting the transcription of osteopontin (OPN), a key molecule in the development of tumor metastasis.

Aurélie Piodi, Philippe Chouteau, Hervé Lerat, Christophe Hézode, Jean‐Michel Pawlotsky – 20 June 2008 – Hepatocellular steatosis is common in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Steatosis can be considered as a true cytopathic lesion induced by hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 3, suggesting that one or more viral proteins produced during genotype 3 infection are involved in the steatogenic process, while the same proteins produced during infection by other genotypes are not.

Akihide Kamiya, Sei Kakinuma, Masafumi Onodera, Atsushi Miyajima, Hiromitsu Nakauchi – 20 June 2008 – During early to late‐fetal liver development, bipotential hepatoblasts proliferate and differentiate into hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. The prospero‐related homeobox 1 gene (Prox1) is expressed in hepatoblasts, and the inactivation of Prox1 causes defective early liver development, in particular, faulty migration of fetal hepatoblasts. Prox1 binds to another hepatocyte‐enriched transcription factor, liver receptor homolog 1 (Lrh1), and suppresses its transcriptional activity.

Elke M. Hennes, Mikio Zeniya, Albert. J. Czaja, Albert Parés, George N. Dalekos, Edward L. Krawitt, Paulo L. Bittencourt, Gilda Porta, Kirsten M. Boberg, Harald Hofer, Francesco B. Bianchi, Minoru Shibata, Christoph Schramm, Barbara Eisenmann de Torres, Peter R. Galle, Ian McFarlane, Hans‐Peter Dienes, Ansgar W. Lohse, International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group – 20 June 2008 – Diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) may be challenging. However, early diagnosis is important because immunosuppression is life‐saving.

Ze‐Zhou Song – 20 June 2008

David Q.‐H. Wang, Sum P. Lee – 20 June 2008 – Although many putative sterol transporters influencing cholesterol absorption and physical–chemical factors affecting dietary cholesterol absorption have been extensively investigated, it is still unclear how biliary cholesterol contributes to the regulation of intestinal cholesterol absorption. We studied whether the gallbladder can modulate the microaggregates of cholesterol carriers, which may in turn influence the intestinal absorption of biliary cholesterol.

Morris Sherman, Cihan Yurdaydin, Halis Simsek, Marcelo Silva, Yun‐Fan Liaw, Vinod K. Rustgi, Hoel Sette, Naoky Tsai, Daniel J. Tenney, James Vaughan, Bruce Kreter, Robert Hindes, AI463026 Benefits of Entecavir for Hepatitis B Liver Disease (BEHoLD) Study Group – 20 June 2008 – In hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive chronic hepatitis B patients who were refractory to current lamivudine therapy, switching to entecavir was superior to continued lamivudine at week 48 for histologic improvement, viral load reduction by polymerase chain reaction and alanine aminotransferase normalization.