Takehiro Torisu, Mako Nakaya, Satoko Watanabe, Masayuki Hashimoto, Hideyuki Yoshida, Takatoshi Chinen, Ryoko Yoshida, Fuyuki Okamoto, Toshikatsu Hanada, Kumiko Torisu, Giichi Takaesu, Takashi Kobayashi, Hideo Yasukawa, Akihiko Yoshimura – 14 January 2008 – Acute liver failure is associated with significant mortality. However, the underlying pathophysiological mechanism is not yet fully understood. Suppressor of cytokine signaling‐1 (SOCS1), which is a negative‐feedback molecule for cytokine signaling, has been shown to be rapidly induced during liver injury.

Jaime Bosch, Dominique Thabut, Agustín Albillos, Nicolas Carbonell, Julius Spicak, Julien Massard, Gennaro D'Amico, Didier Lebrec, Roberto de Franchis, Søren Fabricius, Yan Cai, Flemming Bendtsen – 14 January 2008 – A beneficial effect of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in Child‐Pugh class B and C patients with cirrhosis who have variceal bleeding has been suggested. This randomized controlled trial assessed the efficacy and safety of rFVIIa in patients with advanced cirrhosis and active variceal bleeding.

Véronique Loustaud‐Ratti, Sophie Alain, Annick Rousseau, Isabelle Fouchard Hubert, François Ludovic Sauvage, Pierre Marquet, François Denis, Françoise Lunel, Paul Calès, Annie Lefebvre, Anne‐Laure Fauchais, Eric Liozon, Elisabeth Vidal – 14 January 2008 – The impact of ribavirin exposure on sustained virological response (SVR) in patients with chronic hepatitis C is unknown.

Karina Trujillo‐Murillo, Ana Rosa Rincón‐Sánchez, Herminia Martínez‐Rodríguez, Francisco Bosques‐Padilla, Javier Ramos‐Jiménez, Hugo A. Barrera‐Saldaña, Marcos Rojkind, Ana María Rivas‐Estilla – 14 January 2008 – It has been reported that salicylates (sodium salicylate and aspirin) inhibit the replication of flaviviruses, such as Japanese encephalitis virus and dengue virus. Therefore, we considered it important to test whether acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) had anti–hepatitis C virus (HCV) activity.

Carl J. Baldick, Daniel J. Tenney, Charles E. Mazzucco, Betsy J. Eggers, Ronald E. Rose, Kevin A. Pokornowski, Cheng F. Yu, Richard J. Colonno – 14 January 2008 – Virologic resistance emerging during entecavir (ETV) therapy for hepatitis B virus (HBV) requires three substitutions in the viral reverse transcriptase (RT), signifying a high barrier to resistance.

Alisan Kahraman, Fernando J. Barreyro, Steven F. Bronk, Nathan W. Werneburg, Justin L. Mott, Yuko Akazawa, Howard C. Masuoka, Charles L. Howe, Gregory J. Gores – 10 January 2008 – The contribution of tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL), a death ligand expressed by cells of the innate immune system, to cholestatic liver injury has not been explored. Our aim was to ascertain if TRAIL contributes to liver injury in the bile duct–ligated (BDL) mouse.

Dominique Charles Valla – 7 January 2008

Kirk J. Wangensteen, Andrew Wilber, Vincent W. Keng, Zhiying He, Ilze Matise, Laura Wangensteen, Corey M. Carson, Yixin Chen, Clifford J. Steer, R. Scott McIvor, David A. Largaespada, Xin Wang, Stephen C. Ekker – 7 January 2008 – Current techniques for the alteration of gene expression in the liver have a number of limitations, including the lack of stable somatic gene transfer and the technical challenges of germline transgenesis. Rapid and stable genetic engineering of the liver would allow systematic, in vivo testing of contributions by many genes to disease.

Rebecca G. Wells – 7 January 2008 – Matrix stiffness (resistance to deformation), one of the many mechanical forces acting on cells, is increasingly appreciated as an important mediator of cell behavior. It regulates cell signaling broadly, with effects on growth, survival, and motility. Although the stiffness optima for different kinds of adherent cells vary widely, it is generally true that cell proliferation and differentiation increase with the stiffness of the matrix.

Piero Portincasa, Agostino Di Ciaula, Helen H. Wang, Giuseppe Palasciano, Karel J. van Erpecum, Antonio Moschetta, David Q.‐H. Wang – 7 January 2008 – Gallstones are one of the most common digestive diseases with an estimated prevalence of 10%‐15% in adults living in the western world, where cholesterol‐enriched gallstones represent 75%‐80% of all gallstones. In cholesterol gallstone disease, the gallbladder becomes the target organ of a complex metabolic disease.