Hongtao Wang, Yan Zhang, Robert O. Heuckeroth – 30 May 2007 – Recent studies demonstrating a role for plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)‐1 in cholestatic liver disease in mice suggested that tissue‐type plasminogen activator (tPA) or urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) might be important after biliary tract obstruction. We now demonstrate that blocking tPA exacerbates liver injury after bile duct ligation (BDL).

Manal F. Abdelmalek, Anna Mae Diehl – 30 May 2007

Yasuhiko Sugawara, Sumihito Tamura, Masatoshi Makuuchi – 30 May 2007

Patrick Bertolino, David G. Bowen, Volker Benseler – 30 May 2007

Teresa I. Ng, Hongmei Mo, Tami Pilot‐Matias, Yupeng He, Gennadiy Koev, Preethi Krishnan, Rubina Mondal, Ron Pithawalla, Wenping He, Tanya Dekhtyar, Jeremy Packer, Mark Schurdak, Akhteruzzaman Molla – 29 May 2007 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication is highly dependent on host cell factors. Identification of these host factors not only facilitates understanding of the biology of HCV infection but also enables the discovery of novel targets for anti‐HCV therapy.

Ivana Malovic, Karen K. Sørensen, Kjetil H. Elvevold, Geir Ivar Nedredal, Steinar Paulsen, Alexander V. Erofeev, Bård H. Smedsrød, Peter A. G. McCourt – 29 May 2007 – The purpose of this study was to identify the receptor responsible for endocytosis of denatured collagen from blood. The major site of clearance of this material (at least 0.5 g/day in humans) is a receptor on liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs). We have now identified an 180‐kDa endocytic receptor on LSECs, peptide mass fingerprinting of which revealed it to be the mannose receptor.

Anna S. F. Lok, Brian J. McMahon – 29 May 2007

Yoh Zen, Takahiko Fujii, Kenichi Harada, Mitsuhiro Kawano, Kazunori Yamada, Masayuki Takahira, Yasuni Nakanuma – 29 May 2007 – Immunoglobin G (IgG) 4‐related sclerosing pancreatitis and cholangitis (autoimmune pancreato‐cholangitis [AIPC]) are recently recognized disease entities characterized by high serum IgG4 concentrations and sclerosing inflammation with numerous IgG4‐positive plasma cells, although the underlining immune mechanism remains only speculative.

Kanji Yamaguchi, Liu Yang, Shannon McCall, Jiawen Huang, Xing Xian Yu, Sanjay K. Pandey, Sanjay Bhanot, Brett P. Monia, Yin‐Xiong Li, Anna Mae Diehl – 29 May 2007 – In the early stages of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), triglycerides accumulate in hepatocytes. Diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) catalyzes the final step in hepatocyte triglyceride biosynthesis. DGAT2 antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) treatment improved hepatic steatosis dramatically in a previous study of obese mice.

Andrew C. Melton, Hal F. Yee – 29 May 2007 – Hepatic stellate cells play an essential role in the liver's injury response. Although stellate cells are defined by the presence of cytoplasmic protrusions, the function of these characteristic structures has been obscure. We hypothesized that stellate cell protrusions act by coupling injury‐associated stimuli to chemotaxis.