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.

William M. Lee, Robert H. Squires, Scott L. Nyberg, Edward Doo, Jay H. Hoofnagle – 19 December 2007 – Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare but challenging clinical syndrome with multiple causes; a specific etiology cannot be identified in 15% of adult and 50% of pediatric cases. The course of ALF is variable and the mortality rate is high. Liver transplantation is the only therapy of proven benefit, but the rapidity of progression and the variable course of ALF limit its use.

Xin Hu, Yingjun Zhao, Xianghuo He, Jinjun Li, Tao Wang, Weiping Zhou, Dafang Wan, Hongyang Wang, Jianren Gu – 19 December 2007 – Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) plays important roles in a variety of tissues including neural and non‐neural systems, but the function of CNTF and its receptor (CNTFR) in liver remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that CNTFRα is expressed heterogeneously in normal human liver and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) specimens but not in hepatoblastoma specimens.

Alphonse E. Sirica, Zichen Zhang, Guan‐Hua Lai, Toru Asano, Xue‐Ning Shen, Deanna J. Ward, Arvind Mahatme, Jennifer L. DeWitt – 14 December 2007 – Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma typically presents in an advanced stage in which treatment options are limited. In an effort to recapitulate key biological and clinical features of the progressive disease, we established a novel rat model based on bile duct inoculation of rat cholangiocyte cell lines in different stages of tumor progression.

Jorge Gracia‐Sancho, Bàrbara Laviña, Aina Rodríguez‐Vilarrupla, Héctor García‐Calderó, Mercedes Fernández, Jaume Bosch, Joan‐Carles García‐Pagán – 10 December 2007 – In cirrhotic livers, decreased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability is a major factor increasing intrahepatic vascular tone. In several vascular disorders, an increase in superoxide (O2−) has been shown to contribute to reduced NO bioavailability through its reaction with NO to form peroxynitrite. This study was aimed to test the hypothesis that, in cirrhotic livers, increased O2−, by reacting with NO, reduces NO bioavailability.

Rodolphe Sobesky, Cyrille Feray, François Rimlinger, Nicolas Derian, Alexandre Dos Santos, Anne‐Marie Roque‐Afonso, Didier Samuel, Christian Bréchot, Valérie Thiers – 28 November 2007 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genetic variability may be involved in liver carcinogenesis. We investigated HCV core and corresponding putative F protein genetic variability in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cirrhotic nodules. Hepatocyte clusters from 7 patients with HCC and HCV1b‐related cirrhosis were isolated via microdissection of HCC tissues and 2 nontumoral cirrhotic nodules.

Emmanuel Tsochatzis, George V. Papatheodoridis, Athanasios J. Archimandritis – 28 November 2007

Shawn J. Pelletier, Douglas E. Schaubel, Guanghui Wei, Michael J. Englesbe, Jeffrey D. Punch, Robert A. Wolfe, Friedrich K. Port, Robert M. Merion – 28 November 2007 – Obese patients are at higher risk for morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation (LT) than nonobese recipients. However, there are no reports assessing the survival benefit of LT according to recipient body mass index (BMI).

Kwan Man, Kevin T. Ng, Chung Mau Lo, Joanna W. Ho, Bai Shun Sun, Chris K. Sun, Terence K. Lee, Ronnie T. P. Poon, Sheung Tat Fan – 28 November 2007 – Elucidating the mechanism of liver tumor growth and metastasis after hepatic ischemia‐reperfusion (I/R) injury of a small liver remnant will lay the foundation for the development of therapeutic strategies to target small liver remnant injury, and will reduce the likelihood of tumor recurrence after major hepatectomy or liver transplantation for liver cancer patients.

Hae Won Lee, Kyung‐Suk Suh, Woo Young Shin, Eung‐Ho Cho, Nam‐Joon Yi, Jeong Min Lee, Joon Koo Han, Kuhn Uk Lee – 28 November 2007 – Intrahepatic biliary stricture (IHBS) after liver transplantation (LT) may develop in patients with hepatic artery thrombosis, chronic rejection, or ABO incompatibility, as well as in patients with prolonged warm ischemia in non‐heart‐beating donor (NHBD) LT. However, the clinical course and methods of management have not been well defined for IHBSs to date.