Gut‐derived commensal bacterial products inhibit liver dendritic cell maturation by stimulating hepatic interleukin‐6/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 activity

John G. Lunz, Susan M. Specht, Noriko Murase, Kumiko Isse, Anthony J. Demetris – 28 November 2007 – Intraorgan dendritic cells (DCs) monitor the environment and help translate triggers of innate immunity into adaptive immune responses. Liver‐based DCs are continually exposed, via gut‐derived portal venous blood, to potential antigens and bacterial products that can trigger innate immunity. However, somehow the liver avoids a state of perpetual inflammation and protects central immune organs from overstimulation.

Pegylated interferon alpha‐2b plus ribavirin in patients with genotype 4 chronic hepatitis C: The role of rapid and early virologic response

Sanaa M. Kamal, Samer S. El Kamary, Michelle D. Shardell, Mohamed Hashem, Imad N. Ahmed, Mohamed Muhammadi, Khalifa Sayed, Ashraf Moustafa, Sarah Abdel Hakem, Amany Ibrahiem, Mohamed Moniem, Hoda Mansour, Mohamed Abdelaziz – 28 November 2007 – In patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 4, the optimum duration of therapy and the predictors of sustained virologic response (SVR) have not been adequately determined.

Predictors of treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection—Role of patient versus nonpatient factors

Fasiha Kanwal, Tuyen Hoang, Brennan M.R. Spiegel, Seth Eisen, Jason A. Dominitz, Allen Gifford, Mathew Goetz, Steven M. Asch – 28 November 2007 – Treatment with interferon and ribavirin is effective in patients with chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Previous data indicate that treatment rates are suboptimal. We sought to identify patient and provider‐level predictors of treatment receipt in HCV by conducting a retrospective cohort study of 5701 HCV patients in a large regional Veteran's Administration (VA) healthcare network.

Randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial of corticosteroids after Kasai portoenterostomy for biliary atresia

Mark Davenport, Mark D. Stringer, Sarah A. Tizzard, Patricia McClean, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Nedim Hadzic – 28 November 2007 – The objective of this study was to evaluate adjuvant corticosteroids after Kasai portoenterostomy for biliary atresia. The study consisted of a prospective, 2‐center, double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial of post–Kasai portoenterostomy corticosteroids (oral prednisolone: 2 mg/kg/day from day 7 to day 21 and 1 mg/kg/day from day 22 to day 28). The data were compared with χ2 or Mann‐Whitney tests, as appropriate.

Hepatocyte growth factor signaling pathway inhibits cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase and bile acid synthesis in human hepatocytes

Kwang‐Hoon Song, Ewa Ellis, Stephen Strom, John Y.L. Chiang – 28 November 2007 – Bile acid synthesis in the liver is regulated by the rate‐limiting enzyme cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase (CYP7A1). Transcription of the CYP7A1 gene is inhibited by bile acids and cytokines. The rate of bile acid synthesis is reduced immediately after partial hepatectomy and during the early stage of liver regeneration.

Clonal, cultured, murine fetal liver hepatoblasts maintain liver specification in chimeric mice

Charles E. Rogler, Hong Chou Zhou, Lauretta LeVoci, Leslie E. Rogler – 28 November 2007 – Recent studies have shown a pluripotential nature of stem cells that were previously thought to be committed to specific lineages. HBC‐3 cells are a clonal fetal murine hepatoblast cell line derived from an e9.5 murine embryo, and these cells can be induced to form hepatocytes and bile ducts in vitro and when transplanted into adult mouse livers.

Antiangiogenic treatment with Sunitinib ameliorates inflammatory infiltrate, fibrosis, and portal pressure in cirrhotic rats

Sònia Tugues, Guillermo Fernandez‐Varo, Javier Muñoz‐Luque, Josefa Ros, Vicente Arroyo, Juan Rodés, Scott L. Friedman, Peter Carmeliet, Wladimiro Jiménez, Manuel Morales‐Ruiz – 28 November 2007 – Liver cirrhosis is a very complex disease in which several pathological processes such as inflammation, fibrosis, and pathological angiogenesis are closely integrated. We hypothesized that treatment with pharmacological agents with multiple mechanisms of action will produce superior results to those achieved by only targeting individual mechanisms.

The impact of ethnicity on the natural history of autoimmune hepatitis

Sumita Verma, Michael Torbenson, Paul J. Thuluvath – 28 November 2007 – The impact of ethnicity on the natural history of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) has not been well characterized. The aim of this study was to assess the natural history of AIH in blacks in comparison with others (nonblacks). This was a 10‐year (June 1996 to June 2006) retrospective analysis of patients with AIH from a single tertiary care center. The diagnosis of AIH was defined by the criteria established by the International Autoimmune Hepatitis Club.

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