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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

Paula Bonorino, Vincent Leroy, Tania Dufeu‐Duchesne, Stefania Tongiani‐Dashan, Nathalie Sturm, Martine Pernollet, Eric Vivier, Jean‐Pierre Zarski, Patrice N. Marche, Evelyne Jouvin‐Marche – 29 October 2007 – CD8+ T cells represent a sizable component of the liver inflammatory infiltrate in chronic hepatitis C and are thought to contribute to immune‐mediated tissue injury.

Alberto Rubio‐Tapia, Joseph A. Murray – 29 October 2007 – Celiac disease is a common (1% prevalence) chronic immune‐mediated disorder of the small intestine induced by dietary wheat, barley, and rye. Several hepatic disorders have been described in association with celiac disease. Isolated hypertransaminasemia with nonspecific histologic changes in a liver biopsy is the commonest hepatic presentation of celiac disease. A gluten‐free diet normalizes liver enzymes and histologic changes in most patients.

Vincenzo Mazzaferro – 29 October 2007

Thomas P. Beresford – 29 October 2007