Thierry Thévenot, Jean‐François Cadranel, Vincent Di Martino, Alexandre Pariente, Xavier Causse, Christophe Renou, Hervé Hagege, Jacques Denis, Françoise Lunel‐Fabiani – 26 January 2007 – We conducted a national retrospective survey on hospital practitioners to evaluate the magnitude of erythropoietin (EPO) or granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (G‐CSF) prescriptions in patients treated for chronic hepatitis C. Four hundred seventy‐one questionnaires were sent, and 274 practitioners (58.2%) responded. Forty‐six percent of practitioners used EPO, and 31% used G‐CSF.

Hermann E. Wasmuth, Christian Trautwein – 26 January 2007

Teresa Pollicino, Giuseppina Raffa, Lucy Costantino, Antonella Lisa, Cesare Campello, Giovanni Squadrito, Massimo Levrero, Giovanni Raimondo – 26 January 2007 – Occult HBV infection is characterized by the persistence of HBV DNA in the liver of individuals negative for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg). Occult HBV may exist in the hepatocytes as a free genome, although the factors responsible for the very low viral replication and gene expression usually observed in this peculiar kind of infection are mostly unknown.

Ahmed Bolkhir, Elizabeth M. Brunt, Harvey S. Solomon, Paul H Hayashi – 26 January 2007

Thomas Walter, Jérôme Dumortier, Olivier Guillaud, Valérie Hervieu, Jean‐Yves Scoazec, Olivier Boillot – 26 January 2007 – Recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation (LT) is a major problem, since up to 30% of patients develop cirrhosis only 5 years after LT in the absence of antiviral therapy. The aim of this study was to examine the rate of progression of fibrosis and its associated risk factors in patients submitted to an early antiviral treatment post‐LT.

Deepak V. Gopal, Hugo R. Rosen – 26 January 2007

Martin Hennenberg, Jonel Trebicka, Erwin Biecker, Michael Schepke, Tilman Sauerbruch, Jörg Heller – 26 January 2007 – In cirrhosis, vascular hypocontractility leads to vasodilation and contributes to portal hypertension. Impaired activation of contractile pathways contributes to vascular hypocontractility. Angiotensin II type 1 receptors (AT1‐Rs) are coupled to the contraction‐mediating RhoA/Rho‐kinase pathway and may be desensitized by phosphorylation through G‐protein‐coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) and binding of β‐arrestin‐2.

Anna S. F. Lok, Brian J. McMahon – 26 January 2007

Ignazio Grattagliano, Piero Portincasa, Vincenzo O. Palmieri, Giuseppe Palasciano – 26 January 2007 – Cholestasis is associated with changes in NO metabolism and thiol oxidation. Thioredoxin contributes to regulate vascular tone and intracellular redox status by cleaving nitrosothiols and maintaining −SH groups. This study investigated the changes in circulating thioredoxin and nitrosothiols and the relationship with protein sulfhydryls (PSH), hepatic concentrations, hyaluronate, and histology in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and in rats with bile duct ligation (BDL).

Antonella Pellicoro, Fiona A. J. van den Heuvel, Mariska Geuken, Han Moshage, Peter L. M. Jansen, Klaas Nico Faber – 26 January 2007 – Bile acid–coenzyme A:amino acid N‐acyltransferase (BAAT) is the sole enzyme responsible for conjugation of primary and secondary bile acids to taurine and glycine. Previous studies indicate a peroxisomal location of BAAT in peroxisomes with variable amounts up to 95% detected in cytosolic fractions. The absence or presence of a cytosolic pool of BAAT has important implications for the intracellular transport of unconjugated/deconjugated bile salts.