Vishnudutt Purohit, David A. Brenner – 23 March 2006 – This report is a summary of Ron Thurman Symposium on the Mechanisms of Alcohol‐Induced Hepatic Fibrosis which was organized by The National Institutes of Health in Santa Barbara, California, June 25, 2005. The Symposium and this report highlight the unique aspects by which drinking alcoholic beverages may result in hepatic fibrosis. Acetaldehyde, the first metabolite of ethanol, can upregulate transcription of collagen I directly as well as indirectly by upregulating the synthesis of transforming growth factor‐beta 1 (TGF‐β1).

William J. Holubek, Susanne Kalman, Robert S. Hoffman – 23 March 2006

Ulrich Beuers, Thomas Pusl – 23 March 2006

Andrew P. Holt, Zania Stamataki, David H. Adams – 23 March 2006

Jerome Schartman, Joel Weinstein – 23 March 2006

Ming‐Hung Tsai, Yun‐Shing Peng, Yung‐Chang Chen, Nai‐Jeng Liu, Yu‐Pin Ho, Ji‐Tseng Fang, Jau‐Min Lien, Chun Yang, Pang‐Chi Chen, Cheng‐Shyong Wu – 23 March 2006 – Patients with cirrhosis are susceptible to bacterial infection, which can result in circulatory dysfunction, renal failure, hepatic encephalopathy, and a decreased survival rate. Severe sepsis is frequently associated with adrenal insufficiency, which may lead to hemodynamic instabity and a poor prognosis.

Ponni Perumalswami, David E. Kleiner, Glen Lutchman, Theo Heller, Brian Borg, Yoon Park, T. Jake Liang, Jay H. Hoofnagle, Marc G. Ghany – 23 March 2006 – Hepatic steatosis is common in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and is reported to be a risk factor for progression of fibrosis. The aims of this study were to evaluate the interactions between hepatic steatosis and fibrosis in a well‐defined cohort of patients with CHC.

Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Prabhu Ramamoorthy, Simmy Thomas, Jayasree Basivireddy, Gagandeep Kang, Anup Ramachandran, Anna B Pulimood, K.A. Balasubramanian – 23 March 2006 – Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is a major cause of mortality after liver cirrhosis. Altered permeability of the mucosa and deficiencies in host immune defenses through bacterial translocation from the intestine due to intestinal bacterial overgrowth have been implicated in the development of this complication. Molecular mechanisms underlying the process are not well known.

Peter F. Whitington – 23 March 2006

Matthias Engelke, Kerry Mills, Stefan Seitz, Petra Simon, Philippe Gripon, Martina Schnölzer, Stephan Urban – 23 March 2006 – Insights into the early infection events of the human hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis delta virus (HDV) have been limited because of the lack of a cell culture system supporting the full replication cycle for these important pathogens. The human hepatoma cell line HepaRG allows the experimental induction of a differentiated state, thereby gaining susceptibility toward HBV and HDV infection.