Inhibiting triglyceride synthesis improves hepatic steatosis but exacerbates liver damage and fibrosis in obese mice with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Kanji Yamaguchi, Liu Yang, Shannon McCall, Jiawen Huang, Xing Xian Yu, Sanjay K. Pandey, Sanjay Bhanot, Brett P. Monia, Yin‐Xiong Li, Anna Mae Diehl – 29 May 2007 – In the early stages of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), triglycerides accumulate in hepatocytes. Diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) catalyzes the final step in hepatocyte triglyceride biosynthesis. DGAT2 antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) treatment improved hepatic steatosis dramatically in a previous study of obese mice.

Th2 and regulatory immune reactions are increased in immunoglobin G4‐related sclerosing pancreatitis and cholangitis

Yoh Zen, Takahiko Fujii, Kenichi Harada, Mitsuhiro Kawano, Kazunori Yamada, Masayuki Takahira, Yasuni Nakanuma – 29 May 2007 – Immunoglobin G (IgG) 4‐related sclerosing pancreatitis and cholangitis (autoimmune pancreato‐cholangitis [AIPC]) are recently recognized disease entities characterized by high serum IgG4 concentrations and sclerosing inflammation with numerous IgG4‐positive plasma cells, although the underlining immune mechanism remains only speculative.

The mannose receptor on murine liver sinusoidal endothelial cells is the main denatured collagen clearance receptor

Ivana Malovic, Karen K. Sørensen, Kjetil H. Elvevold, Geir Ivar Nedredal, Steinar Paulsen, Alexander V. Erofeev, Bård H. Smedsrød, Peter A. G. McCourt – 29 May 2007 – The purpose of this study was to identify the receptor responsible for endocytosis of denatured collagen from blood. The major site of clearance of this material (at least 0.5 g/day in humans) is a receptor on liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs). We have now identified an 180‐kDa endocytic receptor on LSECs, peptide mass fingerprinting of which revealed it to be the mannose receptor.

Identification of host genes involved in hepatitis C virus replication by small interfering RNA technology

Teresa I. Ng, Hongmei Mo, Tami Pilot‐Matias, Yupeng He, Gennadiy Koev, Preethi Krishnan, Rubina Mondal, Ron Pithawalla, Wenping He, Tanya Dekhtyar, Jeremy Packer, Mark Schurdak, Akhteruzzaman Molla – 29 May 2007 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication is highly dependent on host cell factors. Identification of these host factors not only facilitates understanding of the biology of HCV infection but also enables the discovery of novel targets for anti‐HCV therapy.

Rimonabant reduces obesity‐associated hepatic steatosis and features of metabolic syndrome in obese Zucker fa/fa rats

Magali Gary‐Bobo, Ghizlane Elachouri, Jean François Gallas, Philip Janiak, Pietro Marini, Christine Ravinet‐Trillou, Michèle Chabbert, Noël Cruccioli, Christian Pfersdorff, Claude Roque, Michèle Arnone, Tiziano Croci, Philippe Soubrié, Florence Oury‐Donat, Jean Pierre Maffrand, Bernard Scatton, Frederic Lacheretz, Gérard Le Fur, Jean Marc Herbert, Mohammed Bensaid – 24 May 2007 – This study investigated the effects of rimonabant (SR141716), an antagonist of the cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), on obesity‐associated hepatic steatosis and related features of metabolic syndrome: inflammation

Incidence of non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma among individuals with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Marianne Ulcickas Yood, Charles P. Quesenberry, Dianlin Guo, Cary Caldwell, Karen Wells, Jun Shan, Lynn Sanders, Mary Lou Skovron, Uchenna Iloeje, M. Michele Manos – 24 May 2007 – Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been shown to be associated with development of non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), few studies have investigated the association between chronic HBV infection and NHL. The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of NHL between patients with and without chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Overestimation and underestimation of hepatitis C virus RNA levels in a widely used real‐time polymerase chain reaction–based method

Stéphane Chevaliez, Magali Bouvier‐Alias, Rozenn Brillet, Jean‐Michel Pawlotsky – 24 May 2007 – The quantification of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA is essential for the everyday management of chronic hepatitis C therapy. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques are potentially more sensitive than classical PCR techniques, are not prone to carryover contamination, and have a consistently wider dynamic range of quantification. Thus, they are rapidly replacing other technologies for the routine quantification of HCV RNA.

Redox‐dependent and ligand‐independent trans‐activation of insulin receptor by globular adiponectin

Tania Fiaschi, Francesca Buricchi, Giacomo Cozzi, Stephanie Matthias, Matteo Parri, Giovanni Raugei, Giampietro Ramponi, Paola Chiarugi – 24 May 2007 – Adiponectin/ACRP30 is an adipose tissue–derived hormone with antiatherogenic, antidiabetic, and insulin‐sensitizing properties. Although the metabolic effects of adiponectin on glucose and lipid metabolism are well known, the signaling pathways triggered by adiponectin receptors remain to be elucidated.

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