Patrick Marcellin, Ting‐Tsung Chang, Seng G. Lee Lim, William Sievert, Myron Tong, Sarah Arterburn, Katyna Borroto‐Esoda, David Frederick, Franck Rousseau – 16 May 2008 – Treatment of 171 patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) with adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) 10 mg over 48 weeks resulted in significant histological, virological, serological, and biochemical improvement compared with placebo. The long‐term efficacy and safety of ADV in a subset of these patients was investigated for up to 5 years.

Alexander Evans, Antonio Riva, Helen Cooksley, Sandra Phillips, Smrithi Puranik, Amit Nathwani, Sara Brett, Shilpa Chokshi, Nikolai V. Naoumov – 16 May 2008 – Hyperexpression of the programmed death 1 (PD‐1) molecule is a hallmark of exhausted T‐cells, having a negative impact on T‐cell activation and function.

Nidal Muhanna, Sarit Doron, Ori Wald, Amjad Horani, Ahmed Eid, Orit Pappo, Scott L. Friedman, Rifaat Safadi – 16 May 2008 – Increased CD8‐T lymphocytes and reduced natural killer (NK) cells contribute to hepatic fibrosis. We have characterized pathways regulating the interactions of human hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) with specific lymphocyte subsets in vivo and in vitro.

Stefan Zeuzem, Eric M. Yoshida, Yves Benhamou, Stephen Pianko, Vincent G. Bain, Daniel Shouval, Robert Flisiak, Vratislav Rehak, Mircea Grigorescu, Kelly Kaita, Patrick W. Cronin, Erik Pulkstenis, G. Mani Subramanian, John G. McHutchison – 9 May 2008 – The efficacy and safety of albinterferon alfa‐2b (alb‐IFN), a novel recombinant protein consisting of interferon alfa‐2b genetically fused to human albumin, was evaluated in a phase 2b, open‐label study of patients with genotype 1, chronic hepatitis C.

Sophie Clément, Cristiana Juge‐Aubry, Antonino Sgroi, Stéphanie Conzelmann, Valerio Pazienza, Brigitte Pittet‐Cuenod, Christoph A. Meier, Francesco Negro – 9 May 2008 – For many years, adipose tissue has been mainly considered as an inert reservoir for storing triglycerides. Since the discovery that adipocytes may secrete a variety of bioactive molecules (hormones, chemokines, and cytokines), an endocrine and paracrine role for white adipose tissue (WAT) in the regulation of energy balance and other physiological processes has been established, particularly with regard to brain and muscle.

Francis Y. Yao, Robert K. Kerlan, Ryutaro Hirose, Timothy J. Davern, Nathan M. Bass, Sandy Feng, Marion Peters, Norah Terrault, Chris E. Freise, Nancy L. Ascher, John P. Roberts – 9 May 2008 – We previously reported encouraging results of down‐staging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to meet conventional T2 criteria (one lesion 2–5 cm or two to three lesions <3 cm) for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in 30 patients as a test of concept.

Curtis K. Argo, Paola Loria, Stephen H. Caldwell, Amedeo Lonardo – 9 May 2008 – A growing number of chronic liver disease patients, especially those with metabolic syndrome–associated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or hepatitis C virus–associated dysmetabolic syndrome, will take statins to prevent cardiovascular disease. As a result, clinicians will weigh complex issues raised by the interaction of statins with liver metabolism in these disorders.

Tarik Asselah, Ivan Bièche, Ingrid Laurendeau, Michelle Martinot‐Peignoux, Valerie Paradis, Dominique Vidaud, Dominique‐Charles Valla, Pierre Bedossa, Patrick Marcellin, Michel Vidaud – 9 May 2008 – Gene expression technologies allow the analysis of gene networks whose expression is associated with specific pathological conditions compared with normal tissue. We hypothesized that histologically normal tissue obtained in different ways (percutaneous or surgical liver biopsies), usually used as normal controls in gene expression studies, could have different gene expression patterns.

Hilde Herrema, Terry G. J. Derks, Theo H. van Dijk, Vincent W. Bloks, Albert Gerding, Rick Havinga, Uwe J. F. Tietge, Michael Müller, G. Peter A. Smit, Folkert Kuipers, Dirk‐Jan Reijngoud – 5 May 2008 – Medium‐chain acyl–coenzyme A (CoA) dehydrogenase (MCAD) catalyzes crucial steps in mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, a process that is of key relevance for maintenance of energy homeostasis, especially during high metabolic demand.

Daniel A. Langer, Amitava Das, David Semela, Ningling Kang‐Decker, Helen Hendrickson, Steven F. Bronk, Zvonimir S. Katusic, Gregory J. Gores, Vijay H. Shah – 5 May 2008 – Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) contribute to portal hypertension through multiple mechanisms that include collagen deposition, vasoconstriction, and regulation of sinusoidal structure.