Marco Binder, Georg Kochs, Ralf Bartenschlager, Volker Lohmann – 29 October 2007 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been known to replicate with extremely varying efficiencies in different host cells, even within different populations of a single human hepatoma cell line, termed Huh‐7. Several reports have implicated the retinoic‐acid inducible gene I (RIG‐I)/ interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF‐3) pathway of the innate antiviral response with differences in host cell permissiveness to HCV.

Xiong Ma, Jing Hua, Abdiaziz R. Mohamood, Abdel Rahmin A. Hamad, Rajani Ravi, Zhiping Li – 29 October 2007 – In nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the pathogenesis of progression from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis has not been fully clarified. Many factors, including oxidative stress and hepatic immune regulation, contribute to the inflammation in steatosis. Because regulatory T cells (Tregs) are important components of immune regulation, we have now investigated their role in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Soo Joo Choi, Mi Sook Gwak, Justin Sang Ko, Gaab Soo Kim, Tae Hyeong Kim, Hyun Ahn, Jie Ae Kim, Mikyung Yang, Sang Lee, Myung Kim – 27 September 2007 – The safety of living donors is a matter of cardinal importance in addition to obtaining optimal liver grafts to be transplanted. Central venous pressure (CVP) is known to have significant correlation with the amount of bleeding during parenchymal transection and many centers have adopted CVP monitoring for right hepatectomy. However, central line cannulation can induce some serious complications.

Ryohei Miyata, Motohide Shimazu, Minoru Tanabe, Shigeyuki Kawachi, Ken Hoshino, Go Wakabayashi, Yoko Kawai, Masaki Kitajima – 27 September 2007 – Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) may develop after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), but the mechanism is not fully understood. We retrospectively analyzed all patients undergoing LDLT at our center, including TMA patients, to elucidate the clinical characteristics and presentation and to determine which patients have a higher risk of occurrence of TMA. In all, 57 adult patients were reviewed after LDLT at our institution.

Mi Sook Gwak, Jie Ae Kim, Gaab Soo Kim, Soo Joo Choi, Hyun Ahn, Jeong Jin Lee, Sang Lee, Myung Kim – 27 September 2007 – Liver allograft recipients may develop a hyperdynamic circulation and cardiac electrophysiologic abnormalities. The incidence of severe ventricular arrhythmias in liver allograft recipients during pulmonary artery (PA) catheterization was determined. One hundred five liver allograft recipients were studied prospectively; 5 of the patients with preexisting valvular heart disease, ischemic heart disease, or arrhythmias were excluded.

Rafael López‐Andújar, Angel Moya, Eva Montalvá, Marina Berenguer, Manuel De Juan, Fernando San Juan, Eugenia Pareja, Juan José Vila, Francisco Orbis, Martín Prieto, José Mir – 27 September 2007 – The aim of this study is to contribute our experience to the knowledge of the anatomic variations of the hepatic arterial supply. The surgical anatomy of the extrahepatic arterial vascularization was investigated prospectively in 1,081 donor cadaveric livers, transplanted at La Fe University Hospital from January 1991 to August 2004.

Xiu‐Da Shen, Bibo Ke, Yuan Zhai, Feng Gao, Sei‐Ichiro Tsuchihashi, Charles R. Lassman, Ronald W. Busuttil, Jerzy W. Kupiec‐Weglinski – 27 September 2007 – This study analyzes how toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling in the donor organ affects the ischemia and reperfusion injury (IRI) sequel following liver transplantation. Isogenic orthotopic liver transplantations (OLTs) with rearterialization were performed in groups of wild‐type (WT) and TLR4 knockout (KO) mice after donor liver preservation in University of Wisconsin solution at 4°C for 24 hours.

Fabrizio di Francesco, Nicola Cautero, Stefano De Luca, Andrea Vecchi, Paolo Garelli, Cataldo Doria, Ignazio R. Marino, Andrea Risaliti – 27 September 2007

Chao‐Long Chen, Allan M. Concejero, Chih‐Chi Wang, Shih‐Ho Wang, Yeuh‐Wei Liu, Chee‐Chien Yong, Chin‐Hsiang Yang, Amornetta P. Jordan, Yu‐Fan Cheng – 27 September 2007

Charmaine A. Stewart, Michael Malinchoc, W. Ray Kim, Patrick S. Kamath – 27 September 2007 – Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is an important component of hepatic decompensation, which reduces survival in patients with cirrhosis. The Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score has been used to predict survival of patients with cirrhosis. The aims of this study were to determine whether HE is a predictor of survival of patients with cirrhosis and to examine the degree to which HE may add to the survival prediction of MELD.