Nadia Gorman, Adrian Zaharia, Heidi S. Trask, Juliana G. Szakacs, Nicholas J. Jacobs, Judith M. Jacobs, Dominic Balestra, Jacqueline F. Sinclair, Peter R. Sinclair – 22 December 2006 – Excess hepatic iron is known to enhance both porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) and experimental uroporphyria. Since previous studies have suggested a role for ascorbate (AA) in suppressing uroporphyria in AA‐requiring rats (in the absence of excess iron), the present study investigated whether AA could suppress uroporphyria produced by excess hepatic iron.

M. Kumar, S. Satapathy, R. Monga, K. Das, S. Hissar, C. Pande, B. C. Sharma, S. K. Sarin – 22 December 2006 – The role of antivirals in patients with acute viral hepatitis B (AVH‐B) has not been evaluated in controlled trials. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of lamivudine in patients with AVH‐B. AVH‐B patients with serum bilirubin of more than 5 mg/dL were randomized to receive either 100 mg of lamivudine daily for 3 months (group 1, n = 31) or placebo (group 2, n = 40).

Hao Yin, Linling Cheng, Robert Langenbach, Cynthia Ju – 22 December 2006 – Studies of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of concanavalin A (ConA)‐induced liver injury have provided important knowledge on the pathogenesis of many liver diseases involving hepatic inflammation. However, studies identifying hepato‐protective factors based on the mechanistic understanding of this model are lacking. Evidence suggests that certain prostaglandin (PG) products of cyclooxygenase (COX)‐1 and COX‐2 provide important anti‐inflammatory and cytoprotective functions in some pathophysiological states.

Tomohide Tatsumi, Tetsuo Takehara, Shinjiro Yamaguchi, Akira Sasakawa, Ryotaro Sakamori, Kazuyoshi Ohkawa, Keisuke Kohga, Akio Uemura, Norio Hayashi – 22 December 2006 – Alpha‐galactosylceramide, a glycosphingolipid, mediates interaction of dendritic cells (DCs) and NKT cells, leading to activation of both innate and acquired immunity. For cancer treatment, conventional DC‐based vaccine has been tried, but its clinical efficacy is limited against liver cancer.

Eric Lévesque, Hugo Girard, Kim Journault, Johanie Lépine, Chantal Guillemette – 22 December 2006 – UDP‐glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) is involved in a wide range of biological and pharmacological processes because of its critical role in the conjugation of a diverse array of endogenous and exogenous compounds. We now describe a new UGT1A1 isoform, referred to as isoform 2 (UGT1A1_i2), encoded by a 1495‐bp complementary DNA isolated from human liver and generated by an alternative splicing event involving an additional exon found at the 3′ end of the UGT1A locus.

Lananh N. Nguyen, Momoko H. Furuya, Lawrence A. Wolfraim, Anthony P. Nguyen, Matthew S. Holdren, Jean S. Campbell, Belinda Knight, George C. T. Yeoh, Nelson Fausto, W. Tony Parks – 22 December 2006 – Oval cells are hepatocytic precursors that proliferate in late‐stage cirrhosis and that give rise to a subset of human hepatocellular carcinomas. Although liver regeneration typically occurs through replication of existing hepatocytes, oval cells proliferate only when hepatocyte proliferation is inhibited.

Lorenzo D'Antiga, Monica Del Rizzo, Carlo Mengoli, Umberto Cillo, Graziella Guariso, Lucia Zancan – 11 December 2006 – Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) infection is the main cause of post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD). Little is known on chronic carrier state and its relation with late PTLD. We aimed to study EBV infection in the long‐term after paediatric liver transplantation (OLT). We conducted a retrospective review of 34 children monitored for a median of 5.8 years (range 1.5‐17.7). 21 were IgG seronegative (group A) and 13 seropositive (group B) before OLT.

Stephen N. Wong, K. Rajender Reddy, Emmet B. Keeffe, Steven‐Huy Han, Paul J. Gaglio, Robert P. Perrillo, Tram T. Tran, Timothy L. Pruett, Anna S.F. Lok – 11 December 2006 – Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receive a higher MELD score and may undergo liver transplantation (OLT) earlier compared to patients with cirrhosis, potentially decreasing waiting list mortality. However, post‐OLT survival may be reduced by recurrence of HCC. We compared clinical outcomes between patients with HBV‐cirrhosis and no HCC and patients with HBV‐HCC.

Ryan M. Taylor, Timothy Davern, Santiago Munoz, Stephen‐Huy Han, Brendan McGuire, Anne M. Larson, Linda Hynan, William M. Lee, Robert J. Fontana, U.S. Acute Liver Failure Study Group – 28 November 2006 – Acute liver failure (ALF) due to hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is an uncommon but potentially lethal illness. The aim of this study was to identify readily available laboratory and clinical features associated with a poor prognosis among ALF patients with HAV infection.

Jerome Gouttenoire, Darius Moradpour, François Penin – 28 November 2006 – Hepatitis C virus is a major global health problem affecting an estimated 170 million people worldwide. Chronic infection is common and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. There is no vaccine available and current therapies have met with limited success. The viral RNA genome encodes a polyprotein that includes 2 proteases essential for virus replication. The NS2‐3 protease mediates a single cleavage at the NS2/NS3 junction, whereas the NS3‐4A protease cleaves at 4 downstream sites in the polyprotein.