Theo Heller, Leonard B. Seeff – 29 November 2005

Hajime Isomoto, Shogo Kobayashi, Nathan W. Werneburg, Steve F. Bronk, Maria Eugenia Guicciardi, David A. Frank, Gregory J. Gores – 29 November 2005 – Interleukin 6 (IL‐6) contributes to the pathogenesis of cholangiocarcinoma by upregulating myeloid cell leukemia‐1 (Mcl‐1), a key antiapoptotic Bcl‐2 family member protein. IL‐6 can alter gene transcription via Janus kinases (JAK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signal cascade. We examined this cascade in IL‐6 regulation of Mcl‐1 transcription in human cholangiocarcinoma cell lines.

Jin‐Won Youn, Su‐Hyung Park, Dimitri Lavillette, Francois‐Loic Cosset, Se‐Hwan Yang, Chang Geun Lee, Hyun‐Tak Jin, Chang‐Min Kim, Mohamed Tarek M. Shata, Dong‐Hun Lee, Wolfram Pfahler, Alfred M. Prince, Young Chul Sung – 29 November 2005 – Immune correlates of protection against hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are not well understood. Here we investigated 2 naive and 6 immunized chimpanzees before and after intravenous challenge, 12 weeks after the last immunization, with 100 50% chimpanzee infectious doses (CID50) of heterologous genotype 1b HCV.

Daniel A. Langer, Vijay H. Shah – 29 November 2005

Pietro Lampertico, Mauro Viganò, Elena Manenti, Massimo Iavarone, Giovanna Lunghi, Massimo Colombo – 29 November 2005 – Progression of hepatitis B in patients with lamivudine‐resistant strains is slowed down by adefovir dipivoxil (ADV). Whether the time point of ADV administration (genotypic vs. phenotypic resistance) influences the outcome of therapy is unknown. We compared the outcome of ADV therapy in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐negative chronic hepatitis B patients with genotypic and phenotypic resistance to lamivudine.

Christoph G. Dietrich, Andreas Geier – 29 November 2005

Alan F. Hofmann, Salam F. Zakko, Marco Lira, Carlo Clerici, Lee R. Hagey, K. Karel Lambert, Joseph H. Steinbach, Claudio D. Schteingart, Peter Olinga, Geny M. M. Groothuis – 29 November 2005 – Experiments were performed in 2 volunteers to define the biotransformation and physiological properties of norursodeoxycholic acid (norUDCA), the C23 (C24‐nor) homolog of UDCA. To complement the in vivo studies, the biotransformation of norUDCA ex vivo using precision‐cut human liver slices was also characterized.

Paul Calès, Frédéric Oberti, Sophie Michalak, Isabelle Hubert‐Fouchard, Marie‐Christine Rousselet, Anselme Konaté, Yves Gallois, Catherine Ternisien, Alain Chevailler, Françoise Lunel – 29 November 2005 – The objective was to develop new blood tests to characterize different fibrosis parameters in viral and alcoholic chronic liver diseases. Measurements included 51 blood markers and Fibrotest, Fibrospect, ELFG, APRI, and Forns scores. The clinically significant fibrosis was evaluated via Metavir staging (F2‐F4), and image analysis was used to determine the area of fibrosis.

Hong Ma, Yanxin Liu, Shilian Liu, Ruian Xu, Dexian Zheng – 29 November 2005 – The extracellular domain of the tumor necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (sTRAIL) may function as a soluble cytokine to selectively kill various cancer cells without toxicity to most normal cells.

Jan Martin Berke, Darius Moradpour – 29 November 2005