Gabriele Sass, Miguel Che Parreira Soares, Kenichiro Yamashita, Stefan Seyfried, Wolfram‐Hubertus Zimmermann, Thomas Eschenhagen, Elzbieta Kaczmarek, Thomas Ritter, Hans‐Dieter Volk, Gisa Tiegs – 7 March 2007 – Heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1), a stress‐responsive enzyme that catabolizes heme into carbon monoxide (CO), biliverdin, and iron, has previously been shown to protect grafts from ischemia/reperfusion injury and rejection. Here we investigated the protective potential of HO‐1 in 5 models of immune‐mediated liver injury.

Harvey J. Alter – 7 March 2007

Youwen Fang, Song Iy Han, Clint Mitchell, Seema Gupta, Elaine Studer, Steven Grant, Phillip B. Hylemon, Paul Dent – 7 March 2007 – Previous studies have demonstrated in hepatocytes that deoxycholic acid (DCA) promotes inactivation of protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) and activation of ERBB1 and the extracellular‐regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 pathway. The present studies have determined the biochemical mechanism(s) through which these events occur.

Steven W. M. Olde Damink, Rajiv Jalan, Nicolaas E. P. Deutz, Cornelis H. C. Dejong, Doris N. Redhead, Paula Hynd, Peter C. Hayes, Peter B. Soeters – 26 February 2007 – Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in cirrhotic patients has a high incidence of mortality and morbidity. Postbleeding catabolism has been hypothesized to be partly due to the low biological value of hemoglobin, which lacks the essential amino acid isoleucine.

Hongchao Zhou, Leslie E. Rogler, Lewis Teperman, Glyn Morgan, Charles E. Rogler – 26 February 2007 – Hepatocyte function and regeneration are severely compromised in severe liver disease, and a common sequela is cirrhosis. Structural changes caused by cirrhosis create a cellular environment conducive to the formation of ductular reactions (DRs). Ductular reactions are primarily composed of oval cells also known as “intermediate hepatobiliary cells”. We have conducted single, double, and triple staining to study lineages of oval cells present in DRs.

Savino Bruno, Tommaso Stroffolini, Massimo Colombo, Simona Bollani, Luisa Benvegnù, Giuseppe Mazzella, Antonio Ascione, Teresa Santantonio, Felice Piccinino, Pietro Andreone, Alessandra Mangia, Giovanni B. Gaeta, Marcello Persico, Stefano Fagiuoli, Piero L. Almasio, on behalf of the Italian Association of the Study of the Liver Disease (AISF) – 26 February 2007 – The effect of achieving a sustained virological response (SVR) following interferon‐α (IFNα) treatment on the clinical outcomes of patients with HCV‐related cirrhosis is unknown.

Akihiko Ito, Yuji Nishikawa, Kazuhiro Ohnuma, Ikuyo Ohnuma, Yu‐ichiro Koma, Ayuko Sato, Katsuhiko Enomoto, Tohru Tsujimura, Hiroshi Yokozaki – 26 February 2007 – Spermatogenic immunoglobulin superfamily (SgIGSF) is an intercellular adhesion molecule of the nectin‐like family. While screening its tissue distribution, we found that it was expressed in fetal liver but not adult liver. In the present study, we examined which cells in developing and regenerating liver express SgIGSF via immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis.

Juan M. Marquès, Idoia Belza, Bettina Holtmann, Diane Pennica, Jesus Prieto, Matilde Bustos – 26 February 2007 – We previously reported that exogenous cardiotrophin‐1 (CT‐1), a member of the IL‐6 family of cytokines, exerts hepatoprotective effects. Because CT‐1 is expressed in the normal liver, we hypothesized that this cytokine may constitute an endogenous defense of the liver against proapoptotic stimuli. Here, we found that CT‐1−/− mice died faster than wild‐type animals after challenge with a lethal dose of the Fas agonist Jo‐2.

26 February 2007

Flavia Bortolotti, Maria Guido – 26 February 2007