Paul P.C. Poyck, Ruurdtje Hoekstra, Albert C.W.A. van Wijk, Chiara Attanasio, Fulvio Calise, Robert A.F.M. Chamuleau, Thomas M. van Gulik – 29 March 2007 – The selection of a cell type for bioartificial liver (BAL) systems for the treatment of patients with acute liver failure is in part determined by issues concerning patient safety and cell availability. Consequently, mature porcine hepatocytes (MPHs) have been widely applied in BAL systems. The success of clinical BAL application systems is, however, largely dependent on the functionality and stability of hepatocytes.

Markus Golling, Cosima Jahnke, Hamidreza Fonouni, Rezvan Ahmadi, Renate Urbaschek, Raoul Breitkreutz, Peter Schemmer, Thomas W. Kraus, Martha M. Gebhard, Markus W. Büchler, Arianeb Mehrabi – 29 March 2007 – The liver function and perfusion following brain death is mainly influenced by the sympathetic nerves and hormones. We examined the specific influence of surgical liver denervation on systemic and hepatic perfusion parameters, bowel ischemia and oxidative stress in hemodynamically stable BD and control (living donor [LD]) pigs.

Olga Tucker, Narendra Battula, Pauline Kane, John Karani, Nigel Heaton, Paolo Muiesan – 29 March 2007

Robert G. Gish – 29 March 2007

Manuel Romero‐Gómez, Juan Córdoba, Rodrigo Jover, Juan A. del Olmo, Marta Ramírez, Ramón Rey, Enrique de Madaria, Carmina Montoliu, David Nuñez, Montse Flavia, Luis Compañy, José M. Rodrigo, Vicente Felipo – 28 March 2007 – Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is mainly diagnosed using psychometric tests such as the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES). Despite the clinical and social relevance of MHE, psychometric testing is not widespread in routine clinical care.

Vasiliki Gkretsi, Wendy M. Mars, William C. Bowen, Lindsay Barua, Yu Yang, Lida Guo, René St.‐Arnaud, Shoukat Dedhar, Chuanyue Wu, George K. Michalopoulos – 28 March 2007 – Extracellular matrix (ECM) is fundamental for the survival of cells within a tissue. Loss of contact with the surrounding ECM often causes altered cell differentiation or cell death. Hepatocytes cultured without matrix lose patterns of hepatocyte‐specific gene expression and characteristic cellular micro‐architecture.

Helen Robertson, John A. Kirby, William W. Yip, David E.J. Jones, Alastair D. Burt – 28 March 2007 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) recurs in the allograft after liver transplantation. Study of early tissue changes in the time‐course of disease recurrence provides a unique insight into the initial stages of the disease process, which, in nontransplant patients, occurs long before clinical presentation. We describe a patient who developed classical clinical, biochemical, immunological, and histological features of PBC within 9 months after transplantation.

Sandra Franco, Mariona Parera, Ester Aparicio, Bonaventura Clotet, Miguel Angel Martinez – 28 March 2007 – The HCV nonstructural protein (NS)3/4A serine protease is not only involved in viral polyprotein processing but also efficiently blocks the retinoic‐acid–inducible gen I and Toll‐like receptor 3 signaling pathways and contributes to virus persistence by enabling HCV to escape the interferon antiviral response. Therefore, the NS3/4A protease has emerged as an ideal target for the control of the disease and the development of new anti‐HCV agents.

Frank Tacke, Christian Trautwein – 28 March 2007

Ho Jung Shin, Naohiko Anzai, Atsushi Enomoto, Xin He, Do Kyung Kim, Hitoshi Endou, Yoshikatsu Kanai – 28 March 2007 – The liver plays an important role in the elimination of endogenous and exogenous lipophilic organic compounds from the body, which is mediated by various carrier proteins that differ in substrate specificity and kinetic properties. Here, we have characterized a novel member of the organic anion transporter family (SLC22) isolated from human liver.