Katarzyna Furrer, Yinghua Tian, Thomas Pfammatter, Wolfram Jochum, Ashraf Mohammad El‐Badry, Rolf Graf, Pierre‐Alain Clavien – 19 December 2007 – Two strategies are clinically available to induce selective hypertrophy of the liver: portal vein embolization (PVE) and portal vein ligation (PVL). The aim of this study was to compare the impact of PVE and PVL on liver regeneration. Rats were subjected to 70% PVL, 70% PVE, 70% partial hepatectomy (PH) (positive control), or sham operation (negative control).

Matthew Wise, Stephanie Bialek, Lyn Finelli, Beth P. Bell, Frank Sorvillo – 19 December 2007 – The disease burden and mortality from hepatitis C are predicted to increase in the United States as the number of persons with long‐standing chronic infection grows. We analyzed hepatitis C mortality rates derived from US Census and multiple‐cause‐of‐death data for 1995‐2004.

George Plitas, Bryan M. Burt, Jennifer A. Stableford, Hoang M. Nguyen, Alexander P. Welles, Ronald P. DeMatteo – 19 December 2007 – The liver harbors a diversity of cell types that have been reported to stimulate T cells. Although most hepatic dendritic cells are immature, a small population of CD11chigh conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) exists that expresses high levels of costimulatory molecules. We sought to determine the relative contribution of cDCs to cross‐presentation by the liver.

Flavia D. Mendes, W. Ray Kim, Rachel Pedersen, Terry Therneau, Keith D. Lindor – 19 December 2007 – In the past 2 decades, important advances have been made in the treatment of cholestatic liver diseases, including primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Whether these new therapies have had demonstrable impact on mortality on a population‐wide scale has not been evaluated. This study describes the age‐specific and sex‐specific mortality rates from PBC and PSC in the United States between 1980 and 1998, based on the Multiple Cause of Death files.

Narayan Dharel, Naoya Kato, Ryosuke Muroyama, Hiroyoshi Taniguchi, Motoyuki Otsuka, Yue Wang, Amarsanaa Jazag, Run‐Xuan Shao, Jin‐Hai Chang, Mark K. Adler, Takao Kawabe, Masao Omata – 19 December 2007 – Infection by hepatitis C virus (HCV) usually results into chronic hepatitis that can ultimately lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Type 1 interferons (IFN‐α/β) constitute the primary cellular defense against viral infection including HCV.

M. Luz Martínez‐Chantar, Mercedes Vázquez‐Chantada, Usue Ariz, Nuria Martínez, Marta Varela, Zigmund Luka, Antonieta Capdevila, Juan Rodríguez, Ana M. Aransay, Rune Matthiesen, Heping Yang, Diego F. Calvisi, Manel Esteller, Mario Fraga, Shelly C. Lu, Conrad Wagner, José M. Mato – 19 December 2007 – Glycine N‐methyltransferase (GNMT) is the main enzyme responsible for catabolism of excess hepatic S‐adenosylmethionine (SAMe).

Susie A. Lee, Coral Ho, Ritu Roy, Cynthia Kosinski, Mohini A. Patil, Aaron D. Tward, Jane Fridlyand, Xin Chen – 19 December 2007 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is 1 of the leading causes of cancer‐related deaths worldwide, yet the molecular genetics underlying this malignancy are still poorly understood. In our study, we applied statistical methods to correlate human HCC gene expression data obtained from complementary DNA (cDNA) microarrays and corresponding DNA copy number variation data obtained from array‐based comparative genomic hybridization.

Ming‐Lung Yu, Chia‐Yen Dai, Jee‐Fu Huang, Ming‐Yen Hsieh, Wan‐Long Chuang – 19 December 2007

Hirdesh Uppal, Yonggong Zhai, Archana Gangopadhyay, Shaheen Khadem, Songrong Ren, James A. Moser, Wen Xie – 19 December 2007 – Gallstone disease is a hepatobiliary disorder due to biochemical imbalances in the gallbladder bile. In this report, we show that activation of nuclear receptor liver X receptor (LXR) sensitized mice to lithogenic diet–induced gallbladder cholesterol crystallization, which was associated with dysregulation of several hepatic transporters that efflux cholesterol, phospholipids, and bile salts.

Jonel Trebicka, Ludger Leifeld, Martin Hennenberg, Erwin Biecker, Andreas Eckhardt, Nicolas Fischer, Andrea Schulze Pröbsting, Christoph Clemens, Frank Lammert, Tilman Sauerbruch, Jörg Heller – 19 December 2007 – In cirrhosis, splanchnic vasodilation contributes to portal hypertension, subsequent renal sodium retention, and formation of ascites. Urotensin II(U‐II) is a constrictor of large conductive vessels. Conversely, it relaxes mesenteric vessels, decreases glomerular filtration, and increases renal sodium retention. In patients with cirrhosis, U‐II plasma levels are increased.