Zhaodong Li, Jonathan A. Dranoff, Erick P. Chan, Masayuki Uemura, Jean Sévigny, Rebecca G. Wells – 11 July 2007 – Myofibroblasts derived from portal fibroblasts are important fibrogenic cells in the early stages of biliary fibrosis. In contrast to hepatic stellate cells, portal fibroblasts have not been well studied in vitro, and little is known about their myofibroblastic differentiation. In this article we report the isolation and characterization of rat portal fibroblasts in culture.

Onpan Cheung, Ashwani Kapoor, Puneet Puri, Sakita Sistrun, Velimir A. Luketic, Carol C. Sargeant, Melissa J. Contos, Mitchell L. Shiffman, Richard T. Stravitz, Richard K. Sterling, Arun J. Sanyal – 3 July 2007 – The patterns of fat distribution and their relationship to severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are unknown. The objectives of this study were to define the fat distribution patterns and their relationship to histological severity and metabolic parameters in subjects with NAFLD. Anthropometric indices and total body fat were measured in 123 subjects.

Albert J. Czaja – 28 June 2007

Fiona Fernandes, Daniel S. Poole, Spencer Hoover, Rannveig Middleton, Adin‐Cristian Andrei, Justin Gerstner, Rob Striker – 28 June 2007 – HCV reoccurs after liver transplantation and increases mortality. Cyclosporine, but not tacrolimus, has potent antiviral effects against HCV replication in cell culture. To determine the conditions, if any, under which HCV is susceptible to cyclosporine in vivo, we selected for cyclosporine‐resistant mutant HCV in vitro. The resulting mutations were mapped to x‐ray crystallographic structures and sequence databases.

Gonzalo Gonzalez‐Stawinski – 28 June 2007

Takeshi Tsujino, Yasuhiko Sugawara, Takao Kawabe, Masatoshi Makuuchi, Masao Omata – 28 June 2007

Hugo Bonatti, Hannes Goegele, Dominique Tabarelli, Gilbert Muehlmann, Robert Sawyer, Raimund Margreiter, Walter Mark, Cornelia Lass Flörl – 28 June 2007

James D. Perkins – 28 June 2007 – Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the only curative therapy of HCC with underlying cirrhosis, but due to HCC metastasis and recurrence, its benefit is limited to a small population who meet the strict selection criteria. We previously reported that Licartin ([131I]mAb HAb18G/CD147) was safe and effective in treating HCC patients, and its antigen, HAb18G/CD147, was closely related to HCC invasion and metastasis. Here, we reported a randomized controlled trial to assess the post‐OLT antirecurrence efficacy of Licartin in advanced HCC patients.

28 June 2007

Manuel Jimenez‐Saenz, Carmen Martinez‐Sanchez – 28 June 2007