Theodore H. Welling, David G. Heidt, Michael J. Englesbe, John C. Magee, Randall S. Sung, Darrell A. Campbell, Jeffrey D. Punch, Shawn J. Pelletier – 27 December 2007 – Biliary complications remain a significant problem following liver transplantation in the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) era. We hypothesized that donor, recipient, and technical variables may differentially affect anastomotic biliary complications in MELD era liver transplants.

Andrew J. Fowell, R. Christopher Benyon – 27 December 2007

Stefano Ballestri, Amedeo Lonardo, Lucia Carulli, Matteo Ricchi, Lorena Bertozzi, Giorgio De Santis, Mario Bondi, Paola Loria – 27 December 2007

Jason T. Blackard, M. Tarek Shata, Norah J. Shire, Kenneth E. Sherman – 27 December 2007

Laura M. Kulik, Brian I. Carr, Mary F. Mulcahy, Robert J. Lewandowski, Bassel Atassi, Robert K. Ryu, Kent T. Sato, Al Benson, Albert A. Nemcek, Vanessa L. Gates, Michael Abecassis, Reed A. Omary, Riad Salem – 26 December 2007 – This study was undertaken to present data from a phase 2 study in which patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with and without portal vein thrombosis underwent radioembolization with Yttrium (90Y) microspheres.

Jennifer M. Timpe, Zania Stamataki, Adam Jennings, Ke Hu, Michelle J. Farquhar, Helen J. Harris, Anne Schwarz, Isabelle Desombere, Geert Leroux Roels, Peter Balfe, Jane A. McKeating – 26 December 2007 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection of Huh‐7.5 hepatoma cells results in focal areas of infection where transmission is potentiated by cell‐cell contact. To define route(s) of transmission, HCV was allowed to infect hepatoma cells in the presence or absence of antibodies that neutralize cell‐free virus infectivity.

Brenda J. Olivier, Ton Schoenmaker, Reina E. Mebius, Vincent Everts, Chris J. Mulder, Karin M. J. van Nieuwkerk, Teun J. de Vries, Schalk W. van der Merwe – 26 December 2007 – Osteoporosis is a common complication of chronic liver disease, and the underlying mechanisms are not understood. We aimed to determine if osteoclasts develop from osteoclast precursors in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of chronic liver disease patients with osteopenia compared with controls.

Udayan Apte, Michael D. Thompson, Shanshan Cui, Bowen Liu, Benjamin Cieply, Satdarshan P. S. Monga – 26 December 2007 – Adult hepatic stem cells or oval cells are facultative stem cells in the liver that are activated during regeneration only during inhibition of innate hepatocyte proliferation. On the basis of its involvement in liver cancer, regeneration, and development, we investigated the role of the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway in oval cell response, which was initiated in male Fisher rats with 2‐acetylaminofluorine and two‐third partial hepatectomy (PHX).

Espen Melum, Tom H. Karlsen, Erik Schrumpf, Annika Bergquist, Erik Thorsby, Kirsten M. Boberg, Benedicte A. Lie – 26 December 2007 – Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is often complicated by the development of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Genetic variation of natural killer cell receptor G2D (NKG2D) has been associated with cancer susceptibility. An important ligand for NKG2D, major histocompatibility complex class I chain‐related molecule A (MICA), serves as a marker of cellular stress. The 5.1 allele of the gene encoding MICA has been associated with PSC.

Phunchai Charatcharoenwitthaya, Paul Angulo, Felicity B. Enders, Keith D. Lindor – 26 December 2007 – A longitudinal, cohort study was performed to characterize the clinical features of patients with small‐duct primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) occurring with and without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to determine the influence of IBD and the effect of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) therapy on the course of the liver disease. Forty‐two patients with small‐duct PSC (14 women and 28 men; mean age, 36.7 ± 13.3 years) were followed for up to 24.9 years.