Liver retransplantation of patients with hepatitis C infection is associated with acceptable patient and graft survival

Marwan Ghabril, Rolland C. Dickson, Victor I. Machicao, Jaime Aranda‐Michel, Andrew Keaveny, Barry Rosser, Hugo Bonatti, Murli Krishna, Maria Yataco, Raj Satyanarayana, Denise Harnois, Winston Hewitt, Darin D. Willingham, Hani Grewal, Christopher B. Hughes, Justin Nguyen – 28 November 2007 – Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of liver transplantation (LT), while liver retransplantation (RT) for HCV is controversial as a result of concerns over poor outcomes. We sought to compare patient and graft survival after RT in patients with and without HCV.

Glucocorticoid‐induced leucine zipper: A key protein in the sensitization of monocytes to lipopolysaccharide in alcoholic hepatitis

Haifa Hamdi, Amélie Bigorgne, Sylvie Naveau, Axel Balian, Laurence Bouchet‐Delbos, Anne‐Marie Cassard‐Doulcier, Marie‐Christine Maillot, Ingrid Durand‐Gasselin, Sophie Prévot, Jocelyne Delaveaucoupet, Dominique Emilie, Gabriel Perlemuter – 28 November 2007 – Glucocorticoid‐induced leucine zipper (GILZ), a recently identified protein induced by glucocorticoids (GCs), inhibits the nuclear factor κB pathway and the activation of monocytes/macrophages by lipopolysaccharides (LPS).

Hepatitis B virus infection initiates with a large surface protein–dependent binding to heparan sulfate proteoglycans

Andreas Schulze, Philippe Gripon, Stephan Urban – 28 November 2007 – Contrary to many other viruses, the initial steps of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, including attachment to hepatocytes, specific receptor interactions, and membrane fusion, are unsolved. Using HepaRG cells as an in vitro cell culture system, we here report that HBV entry into hepatocytes depends on the interaction with the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) side chains of cell‐surface–associated heparan sulfate proteoglycans.

Treatment extension to 72 weeks of peginterferon and ribavirin in hepatitis c genotype 1–infected slow responders

Brian L. Pearlman, Carole Ehleben, Sophia Saifee – 28 November 2007 – In hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection, the duration of interferon‐based therapy is a critical determinant in achieving sustained virologic response (SVR). Slow or late responders to peginterferon and ribavirin may benefit from an extended treatment course. We sought to determine if therapy extension could improve response rates in a United States population of slow responders.

Model for end‐stage liver disease score and systemic inflammatory response are major prognostic factors in patients with cirrhosis and acute functional renal failure

Dominique Thabut, Julien Massard, Alice Gangloff, Nicolas Carbonell, Claire Francoz, Eric Nguyen‐Khac, Christian Duhamel, Didier Lebrec, Thierry Poynard, Richard Moreau – 28 November 2007 – Although it is often functional at presentation, acute renal failure has a poor prognosis in patients with cirrhosis. The role of inflammation, a key event in the outcome of cirrhosis, has never been studied in this setting. We aimed to investigate the predictive factors of mortality in patients with cirrhosis and acute functional renal failure, specifically in relation to inflammatory events.

Randomized controlled study of extracorporeal albumin dialysis for hepatic encephalopathy in advanced cirrhosis

Tarek I. Hassanein, Flemming Tofteng, Robert S. Brown, Brendan McGuire, Patrick Lynch, Ravindra Mehta, Fin S. Larsen, Jeff Gornbein, Jan Stange, Andres T. Blei – 28 November 2007 – Extracorporeal albumin dialysis (ECAD) may improve severe hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in patients with advanced cirrhosis via the removal of protein or non–protein‐bound toxins. A prospective, randomized, controlled, multicenter trial of the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of ECAD using molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) was conducted in such patients.

Determinants of alcohol use and abuse: Impact of quantity and frequency patterns on liver disease

Samir Zakhari, Ting‐Kai Li – 28 November 2007 – More than 70% of alcohol is consumed by 10% of the population in the United States. Implicit in this statistic is that tremendous variation in the pattern of drinking (quantity, frequency, and duration) exists among alcohol consumers. Individuals who are binge or chronic drinkers will have different health outcomes than social drinkers. Therefore, knowing the pattern of drinking will shed light on how severely individuals are alcohol‐dependent and on the extent of liver damage.

Efficient generation of human hepatocytes by the intrahepatic delivery of clonal human mesenchymal stem cells in fetal sheep

Jason Chamberlain, Takashi Yamagami, Evan Colletti, Neil D. Theise, Jyoti Desai, Ana Frias, John Pixley, Esmail D. Zanjani, Christopher D. Porada, Graça Almeida‐Porada – 28 November 2007 – Alternative methods to whole liver transplantation require a suitable cell that can be expanded to obtain sufficient numbers required for successful transplantation while maintaining the ability to differentiate into hepatocytes. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) possess several advantageous characteristics for cell‐based therapy and have been shown to be able to differentiate into hepatocytes.

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