Ngee‐Chih Foo, Byung Y. Ahn, Xiaohong Ma, William Hyun, T. S. Benedict Yen – 7 March 2007 – Fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis (FCH) is a rapidly progressive form of viral hepatitis B that occurs in severely immunosuppressed patients. Pathologically, the liver in FCH is characterized by widespread hepatocyte vacuolization and apoptosis, which, in contrast to more common forms of hepatitis B, is only rarely associated with significant inflammation.

Christophe Bureau, Jean‐Marie Péron, Laurent Alric, Joséphine Morales, Jérǒme Sanchez, Karl Barange, Jean‐Louis Payen, Jean‐Pierre Vinel – 7 March 2007 – We report the results of adapting medical therapy to the monitoring of hemodynamic response in the prevention of a first variceal bleeding or rebleeding in patients with cirrhosis. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) was measured before and after propranolol was initiated. The patients were considered responders if HVPG decreased below 12 mm Hg or at least 20% as compared with baseline value.

Jorge A. Marrero, Robert J. Fontana, Grace L. Su, Hari S. Conjeevaram, Dawn M. Emick, Anna S. Lok – 7 March 2007 – The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States is increasing, but the clinical characteristics of American patients with HCC have not been well described. The aims of this study were to determine the etiology of liver disease and short‐term outcome among HCC patients presenting to a single center in the United States. One hundred five consecutive patients with HCC were studied; mean age was 59 years, 67% were men, and 76% were non‐Hispanic white.

Flemming Tofteng, Linda Jorgensen, Bent Adel Hansen, Peter Ott, Jens Kondrup, Fin Stolze Larsen – 7 March 2007 – Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) is often complicated by high intracranial pressure (ICP) and fatal brain damage. In this study, we determined if a rise in [glutamate] ec and [lactate] ec preceded surges of high ICP in patients with FHF (median age, 42; range, 20–55 years; 7 women; 3 men) by inserting a microdialysis catheter into the brain‐cortex together with an ICP catheter. The microdialysis catheter was perfused with artificial cerebrospinal‐fluid at a rate of 0.3 μL/min.

Volker Bruss – 7 March 2007

Snorri S. Thorgeirsson – 7 March 2007 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancerrelated deaths worldwide. Here, we provide evidence that the Forkhead Box (Fox) m1b (Foxm1b or Foxm1) transcription factor is essential for the development of HCC. Conditionally deleted Foxm1b mouse hepatocytes fail to proliferate and are highly resistant to developing HCC in response to a Diethylnitrosamine (DEN)/Phenobarbital (PB) liver tumor‐induction protocol.

Marcin T. Kortylewski, Andreas Barthel – 7 March 2007 – The transcription factor, signal transducer and activator of transcription‐3 (STAT‐3) contributes to various physiological processes. Here we show that mice with liver‐specific deficiency in STAT‐3, achieved using the Cre‐loxP system, show insulin resistance associated with increased hepatic expression of gluconeogenic genes. Restoration of hepatic STAT‐3 expression in these mice, using adenovirus‐mediated gene transfer, corrected the metabolic abnormalities and the alterations in hepatic expression of gluconeogenic genes.

Young‐Soo Kim, Robert F. Schwabe, Ting Qian, John J. Lemasters, David A. Brenner – 7 March 2007 – Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis in a wide range of malignant cells. However, several cancers, including human hepatoma, are resistant to TRAIL. In this study, we analyzed TRAIL‐induced pro‐ and antiapoptotic signaling pathways in human hepatoma cells. Nuclear factor k B (NF‐kB) was found to be a critical TRAIL‐induced antiapoptotic factor in the PLC/PRF/5, HepG2, and Hep3B cell lines.

Hauke Rensing, Inge Bauer, Jian X. Zhang, Markus Paxian, Benedikt H. J. Pannen, Yukihiro Yokoyama, Mark G. Clemens, Michael Bauer – 7 March 2007 – Heme oxygenase (HO)‐1 is up‐regulated after ischemia/reperfusion and contributes to maintenance of hepatic perfusion and integrity. Blockade of HO‐1 leads to an increased portal pressor response in the stress‐exposed liver. We tested whether the increase in portal pressure reflects unmasking of a concomitant up‐regulation of the vasoconstrictor endothelin (ET)‐1.

Timothy J. Davern, Steven Galson – 7 March 2007