Bruce Wang, Brian M. Dolinski, Noriko Kikuchi, Diane R. Leone, Marion G. Peters, Paul H. Weinreb, Shelia M. Violette, D. Montgomery Bissell – 29 October 2007 – Acute biliary obstruction leads to periductal myofibroblasts and fibrosis, the origin of which is uncertain. Our study provides new information on this question in mice and humans. We show that bile duct obstruction induces a striking increase in cholangiocyte αvβ6 integrin and that expression of this integrin is directly linked to fibrogenesis through activation of transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β).

Norio Akuta, Fumitaka Suzuki, Yusuke Kawamura, Hiromi Yatsuji, Hitomi Sezaki, Yoshiyuki Suzuki, Tetsuya Hosaka, Masahiro Kobayashi, Mariko Kobayashi, Yasuji Arase, Kenji Ikeda, Hiromitsu Kumada – 29 October 2007 – We showed previously that amino acid (aa) substitutions in hepatitis C virus core region (HCV‐CR) are negative predictors of virologic response to pegylated interferon (IFN) plus ribavirin therapy. HCV‐CR induces hepatocellular carcinoma in transgenic mice, but the clinical impact is still unclear.

Ali Mencin, Ekihiro Seki, Yosuke Osawa, Yuzo Kodama, Samuele De Minicis, Michael Knowles, David A. Brenner – 29 October 2007 – Alpha‐1 antitrypsin (α1‐AT) deficiency is the most common genetic cause of liver disease in children. The homozygous α1‐ATZ mutation (PiZZ) results in significant liver disease in 10% of all affected patients. The α1‐ATZ mutation also may lead to worse liver injury in the setting of other liver diseases such as cystic fibrosis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and hepatitis C.

Tae Hoon Lee, Nilay Shah, Rachel A. Pedersen, Walter K. Kremers, Charles B. Rosen, Goran B. Klintmalm, W. Ray Kim – 29 October 2007 – Previous analyses have reported that minority patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) have poorer survival than Caucasian recipients. The reason for this disparity is unclear. We examined whether racial differences in survival exist at select academic OLT centers. OLT recipients from 4 academic centers were prospectively enrolled in 2 multicenter databases.

Savino Bruno, Andrea Crosignani, Patrick Maisonneuve, Sonia Rossi, Enrico Silini, Mario U. Mondelli – 29 October 2007 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent cause of death in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)–induced cirrhosis. Despite a number of studies in different populations worldwide suggesting an association between HCV genotype 1 and the risk of HCC, no consensus has emerged yet on this matter, which is still controversial.

John G. McHutchison, Bruce R. Bacon, Stuart C. Gordon, Eric Lawitz, Mitchell Shiffman, Nezam H. Afdhal, Ira M. Jacobson, Andrew Muir, Mohammed Al‐Adhami, Mary L. Morris, Julie A. Lekstrom‐Himes, Susan M. Efler, Heather L. Davis – 29 October 2007 – CPG 10101, a synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN), is a toll‐like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist with antiviral and immunomodulatory properties that could potentially influence chronic infection with HCV.

James D. Perkins – 29 October 2007

Jawad Ahmad, Kathy K. Downey, Mohamed Akoad, Thomas V. Cacciarelli – 29 October 2007 – Organ allocation for liver transplantation (LT) in the United States is based on the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score. The MELD score prioritizes organ distribution to sicker patients. There is limited data on the effect of this policy on transplantation in the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the MELD score on U.S. veteran patients undergoing LT.

Vanessa Stadlbauer, Nathan A. Davies, Gavin A.K. Wright, Rajeshwar P. Mookerjee, Rajiv Jalan – 29 October 2007

Goran B.G. Klintmalm, W. Kenneth Washburn, Steven M. Rudich, Thomas G. Heffron, Lewis W. Teperman, Carlos Fasola, Devin E. Eckhoff, George J. Netto, Eliezer Katz – 29 October 2007 – This work is a 1‐yr interim analysis of a prospective, randomized, multicenter trial evaluating the effect of corticosteroid‐free immunosuppression on hepatitis C virus–positive (HCV+) liver transplant recipients following liver transplantation (LT).