Michael Kremer, Ashley W. Perry, Richard J. Milton, Richard A. Rippe, Michael D. Wheeler, Ian N. Hines – 26 December 2007 – Transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) promotes hepatocellular apoptosis and suppresses hepatic lymphocyte responses in part through activation of Smad3. The purpose of the current study was to determine the importance of Smad3 signaling in an experimental model of autoimmune hepatitis induced by concanavalin A (ConA), a process involving T cell activation and hepatocellular apoptosis.

Alessandra Mangia, Nicola Minerva, Donato Bacca, Raffaele Cozzolongo, Giovanni L. Ricci, Vito Carretta, Francesco Vinelli, Gaetano Scotto, Giuseppe Montalto, Mario Romano, Giuseppe Cristofaro, Leonardo Mottola, Fulvio Spirito, Angelo Andriulli – 26 December 2007 – It was hypothesized that in hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 patients, variable treatment duration individualized by first undetectable HCV RNA is as effective as standard 48‐week treatment.

Alejandro Forner, Ramón Vilana, Carmen Ayuso, Lluís Bianchi, Manel Solé, Juan Ramón Ayuso, Loreto Boix, Margarita Sala, María Varela, Josep M Llovet, Concepció Brú, Jordi Bruix – 26 December 2007 – This study prospectively evaluates the accuracy of contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the diagnosis of nodules 20 mm or smaller detected during ultrasound (US) surveillance.

Yuan Zhai, Xiu‐Da Shen, Feng Gao, Alice Zhao, Maria Cecilia Freitas, Charles Lassman, Andrew D. Luster, Ronald W. Busuttil, Jerzy W. Kupiec‐Weglinski – 26 December 2007 – We have shown that activation of toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) and its interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3)‐dependent downstream signaling pathway are required for the development of liver ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI). This study focused on the role of TLR4‐IRF3 activation pathway products, in particular, chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) ligand 10 (CXCL10).

Olav Dalgard, Kristian Bjøro, Helmer Ring‐Larsen, Einar Bjornsson, Mona Holberg‐Petersen, Eva Skovlund, Olle Reichard, Bjørn Myrvang, Bo Sundelöf, Ståle Ritland, Kjell Hellum, Aril Frydén, Jon Florholmen, Hans Verbaan, North‐C Group – 26 December 2007 – A recent nonrandomized pilot trial showed that hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients with genotype 2/3 and rapid virological response (RVR) had a 90% sustained virological response (SVR) rate after 14 weeks of treatment. We aimed to assess this concept in a randomized controlled trial.

Linda Diehl, Anna Schurich, Regina Grochtmann, Silke Hegenbarth, Lieping Chen, Percy A. Knolle – 26 December 2007 – Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC) are unique organ‐resident antigen‐presenting cells capable of cross‐presentation and subsequent tolerization of naïve CD8+ T cells. We investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying this tolerance induction in naive CD8+ T cells.

Takashi Hamada, Constantino Fondevila, Ronald W. Busuttil, Ana J. Coito – 26 December 2007 – Leukocyte transmigration across endothelial and extracellular matrix protein barriers is dependent on adhesion and focal matrix degradation events. In the present study we investigated the role of metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9/gelatinase B) in liver ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury using MMP‐9‐deficient (MMP‐9−/−) animals and mice treated with a specific anti‐MMP‐9 neutralizing antibody or with a broad gelatinase inhibitor for both MMP‐9 and metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2/gelatinase A).

Satoshi Kuboki, Thomas Shin, Nadine Huber, Thorsten Eismann, Elizabeth Galloway, Rebecca Schuster, John Blanchard, Basilia Zingarelli, Alex B. Lentsch – 26 December 2007 – The function of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ (PPARγ) in hepatic inflammation and injury is unclear. In this study, we sought to determine the role of PPARγ in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice. Male mice were subjected to 90 minutes of partial hepatic ischemia followed by up to 8 hours of reperfusion. PPARγ was found to be constitutively activated in hepatocytes but not in nonparenchymal cells.

Tito Livraghi, Franca Meloni, Michele Di Stasi, Emanuela Rolle, Luigi Solbiati, Carmine Tinelli, Sandro Rossi – 26 December 2007 – If liver transplantation is not feasible, partial resection is considered the treatment of choice for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with cirrhosis. However, in some centers the first‐line treatment for small, single, operable HCC is now radiofrequency ablation (RFA). In the current study, 218 patients with single HCC ≤ 2.0 cm (very early or T1 stage) underwent RFA.

Virginie Defamie, Marina Laurens, Damiano Patrono, Laurent Devel, Antoine Brault, Marie‐Christine Saint‐Paul, Athanasios Yiotakis, Pascal Barbry, Jean Gugenheim, Dominique Crenesse, Vincent Dive, Pierre‐Michel Huet, Bernard Mari – 26 December 2007 – Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in the hepatic injury induced after cold ischemia–warm reperfusion (CI‐WR), by altering the extracellular matrix (ECM), but their precise role remains unknown.