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.

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.

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.

Jae‐Sung Kim, Takashi Nitta, Dagmara Mohuczy, Kerri A. O'Malley, Lyle L. Moldawer, William A. Dunn, Kevin E. Behrns – 20 December 2007 – Autophagy selectively removes abnormal or damaged organelles such as dysfunctional mitochondria. The mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) is a marker of impaired mitochondrial function that is evident in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and autophagy in I/R injury is unknown.

Anita C.G. Chua, Carly E. Herbison, Sarah F. Drake, Ross M. Graham, John K. Olynyk, Debbie Trinder – 20 December 2007 – HFE‐related hereditary hemochromatosis results in hepatic iron overload. Hepatocytes acquire transferrin‐bound iron via transferrin receptor (Tfr) 1 and Tfr1‐independent pathways (possibly Tfr2‐mediated). In this study, the role of Hfe in the regulation of hepatic transferrin‐bound iron uptake by these pathways was investigated using Hfe knockout mice.

M. Michele Manos, Wendy A. Leyden, Rosemary C. Murphy, Norah A. Terrault, Beth P. Bell – 20 December 2007 – Standard death certificate–based methods for ascertaining deaths due to chronic liver disease (CLD), such as the U.S. vital statistics approach, rely on a limited set of diagnostic codes to define CLD. These codes do not include viral hepatitis or consider hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) deaths, and thus, underestimate the true burden of CLD mortality. Deaths associated with CLD may be further misunderstood because of the inherent limitations of death record information.

Flavien Bernardin, Leslie Tobler, Irina Walsh, Joan Dunn Williams, Mike Busch, Eric Delwart – 20 December 2007 – We determined whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA could be detected associated with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of seropositive blood donors who had spontaneously or therapeutically cleared their plasma viremia. Blood donor plasma viremia status was first determined with a highly sensitive transcription‐mediated amplification (TMA) test performed in duplicate assays.

Cheng‐Hui Hsiao, Mei‐Hwei Chang, Huey‐Ling Chen, Hung‐Chang Lee, Tzee‐Chung Wu, Chieh‐Chung Lin, Yao‐Jong Yang, An‐Chyi Chen, Mao‐Meng Tiao, Beng‐Huat Lau, Chia‐Hsiang Chu, Ming‐Wei Lai – 20 December 2007 – Biliary atresia is the most common cause of death from liver disease in children. Although the Kasai operation before 60 days of age can significantly improve prognosis, delay in referral and surgery remains a formidable problem worldwide because of difficulties in differentiating it from benign prolonged neonatal jaundice.

ZhengZheng Li, Michael Berk, Thomas M. McIntyre, Gregory J. Gores, Ariel E. Feldstein – 20 December 2007 – Impaired mitochondrial function is largely thought to be a core abnormality responsible for disease progression in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the molecular mechanisms resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction in NAFLD remain poorly understood. This study examined the effects of excessive accumulation of free fatty acids (FFAs) in liver cells on mitochondrial function and the role of the lysosomal‐mitochondrial axis on lipotoxicity.

Heike Varnholt, Uta Drebber, Falko Schulze, Inga Wedemeyer, Peter Schirmacher, Hans‐Peter Dienes, Margarete Odenthal – 19 December 2007 – MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by targeting messenger RNAs (mRNAs) through translational repression or RNA degradation. Many fundamental biological processes are modulated by microRNAs, and an important role for microRNAs in carcinogenesis is emerging.