Kris V. Kowdley – 26 January 2007

Annette Erhardt, Markus Biburger, Thomas Papadopoulos, Gisa Tiegs – 26 January 2007 – The liver appears to play an important role in immunological tolerance, for example, during allo‐transplantation. We investigated tolerance mechanisms in the model of concanavalin A (ConA)‐induced immune‐mediated liver injury in mice. We found that a single injection of a sublethal ConA dose to C57BL/6 mice induced tolerance toward ConA‐induced liver damage within 8 days. This tolerogenic state was characterized by suppression of the typical Th1 response in this model and increased IL‐10 production.

James Guggenheimer, Bijan Eghtesad, John M. Close, Christine Shay, John J. Fung – 26 January 2007 – A prerequisite dental evaluation is usually recommended for potential organ transplant candidates. This is based on the premise that untreated dental disease may pose a risk for infection and sepsis, although there is no evidence that this has occurred in organ transplant candidates or recipients. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of dental disease and oral health behaviors in a sample of liver transplant candidates (LTCs).

Eric T. Castaldo, C. Wright Pinson, Irene D. Feurer, J. Kelly Wright, D. Lee Gorden, Beau S. Kelly, Ravi S. Chari – 26 January 2007 – Biliary complications following orthotopic liver transplantation have been reported in 10% to 30% of patients. Most surgeons perform an end‐to‐end choledochocholedochostomy with interrupted sutures for biliary reconstruction.

Arturo Gonzalez‐Quintela, Santiago Lojo, Esteban Otero, Luis F. Perez – 26 January 2007

Shashikiran Donthamsetty, Vishakha S. Bhave, Mayurranjan S. Mitra, John R. Latendresse, Harihara M. Mehendale – 26 January 2007 – This study tested whether hepatic steatosis sensitizes liver to toxicant‐induced injury and investigated the potential mechanisms of hepatotoxic sensitivity. Male Sprague‐Dawley rats were fed a methionine‐ and choline‐deficient diet for 31 days to induce steatosis.

Koichi Tanaka, Shinji Uemoto, Hiroto Egawa, Yasutsugu Takada, Kazue Ozawa, Satoshi Teramukai, Mureo Kasahara, Kohei Ogawa, Masako Ono, Hiroshi Sato, Kenji Takai, Masanori Fukushima, Kayo Inaba – 26 January 2007 – Previous studies have shown that postoperative infection is highest in transplant recipients with preexisting high levels of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). To study this phenomenon, 106 adult liver transplant recipients were divided into 3 groups, based on hierarchical clustering of the CD3+CD8+CD45 isoform fractions prior to living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

Tadahiro Uemura, Henry B. Randall, Edmund Q. Sanchez, Toru Ikegami, Gomathy Narasimhan, Greg J. McKenna, Srinath Chinnakotla, Marlon F. Levy, Robert M. Goldstein, Goran B. Klintmalm – 26 January 2007 – Initial graft function following liver transplantation is a major determinant of postoperative survival and morbidity. Primary graft nonfunction (PNF) is uncommon; however, it is one of the most serious and life‐threatening conditions in the immediate postoperative period.

26 January 2007

Diethard Monbaliu, Jos van Pelt, Rita De Vos, Joanne Greenwood, Jaakko Parkkinen, Tina Crabbé, Marcel Zeegers, Katrien Vekemans, Joël Pincemail, Jean‐Olivier Defraigne, Johan Fevery, Jacques Pirenne – 26 January 2007 – More extensive use of non‐heart‐beating donors (NHBD) could reduce mortality on liver transplantation waiting lists, but this is associated with more primary nonfunction (PNF).