Parenteral nutrition–associated liver disease and the role for isolated intestine and intestine/liver transplantation

Alan L. Buchman, Kishore Iyer, Jonathan Fryer – 22 December 2005 – Parenteral nutrition–associated liver disease (PNALD) is the most devastating complication of long‐term parenteral nutrition therapy. Because its progression is typically insidious and its long‐term consequences are generally underappreciated, PNALD is often recognized too late, when liver injury is irreversible.

Glucagon and cAMP inhibit cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase (CYP7a1) gene expression in human hepatocytes: Discordant regulation of bile acid synthesis and gluconeogenesis

Kwang‐Hoon Song, John Y. L. Chiang – 1 December 2005 – The gene encoding cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase (CYP7A1) is tightly regulated to control bile acid synthesis and maintain lipid homeostasis. Recent studies in mice suggest that bile acid synthesis is regulated by the fasted‐to‐fed cycle, and fasting induces CYP7A1 gene expression in parallel to the induction of peroxisome proliferators‐activated receptor γ co‐activator 1α (PGC‐1α) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK). How glucagon regulates CYP7A1 gene expression in the human liver is not clear.

Quantitative analysis of anti–hepatitis C virus antibody–secreting B cells in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Takeji Umemura, Richard Y.‐H. Wang, Cathy Schechterly, J. Wai‐Kuo Shih, Kendo Kiyosawa, Harvey J. Alter – 1 December 2005 – To investigate the quantitative characteristics of humoral immunity in patients with hepatitis C, we established an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent spot (ELISpot) assay for detection of anti–hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐secreting B cells. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated 100% specificity and 58% to 92% sensitivity for detecting B‐cell responses to NS5b, NS3, E2, and core antigens.

Longitudinal evaluation reveals a complex spectrum of virological profiles in hepatitis B virus/hepatitis C virus–coinfected patients

Giovanni Raimondo, Maurizia R. Brunetto, Patrizia Pontisso, Antonina Smedile, Anna Maria Maina, Carlo Saitta, Giovanni Squadrito, Natascia Tono – 1 December 2005 – Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection is often associated with severe forms of liver disease. However, comprehensive studies are lacking, and scant information is available regarding the virological behavior over time in coinfected patients.

OSTα‐OSTβ: A major basolateral bile acid and steroid transporter in human intestinal, renal, and biliary epithelia

Nazzareno Ballatori, Whitney V. Christian, Jin Young Lee, Paul A. Dawson, Carol J. Soroka, James L. Boyer, Michael S. Madejczyk, Na Li – 29 November 2005 – The cellular and subcellular localization and mechanism of transport of the heteromeric organic solute transporter (OST) OSTα‐OSTβ was examined in human and rodent epithelia. The two subunits of the transporter were expressed together in human small intestine, kidney, and liver, tissues that also express the apical sodium‐dependent bile acid uptake transporter ASBT (SLC10A2).

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