Yukiyasu Kuzumoto, Masayuki Sho, Naoya Ikeda, Kaoru Hamada, Takashi Mizuno, Satoru Akashi, Yoshikazu Tsurui, Hisanori Kashizuka, Takeo Nomi, Atsushi Kubo, Hiromichi Kanehiro, Yoshiyuki Nakajima – 17 August 2005 – Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) mediates a variety of innate and adaptive immunity through four distinct receptors: EP1‐EP4. It has been suggested that each EP plays a unique and pivotal role in various disease conditions. We investigated the pathophysiological role of EP receptors in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.

Min You, Robert V. Considine, Teresa C. Leone, Daniel P. Kelly, David W. Crabb – 17 August 2005 – The protective effect of dietary saturated fatty acids against the development of alcoholic liver disease has long been known, but the underlying mechanism is not completely understood. We examined the involvement of the adipocyte hormone adiponectin. Circulating adiponectin levels were significantly elevated by chronic ethanol administration to mice consuming a diet high in saturated fat.

Javier Fernández, Joan Monteagudo, Xavier Bargallo, Wladimiro Jiménez, Jaume Bosch, Vicente Arroyo, Miguel Navasa – 17 August 2005 – The administration of albumin improves circulatory function, prevents hepatorenal syndrome, and reduces hospital mortality in patients with cirrhosis and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. This randomized unblinded pilot study compared the effect of albumin (10 patients) and the synthetic plasma expander hydroxyethyl starch 200/0.5 (10 patients) on the systemic hemodynamics of patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

Xamila Salcedo, Jesús Medina, Paloma Sanz‐Cameno, Luisa García‐Buey, Samuel Martín‐Vilchez, María J. Borque, Manuel López‐Cabrera, Ricardo Moreno‐Otero – 15 August 2005 – Angiogenesis, the formation of new vessels, has been reported to play a significant pathogenic role in liver damage–associated hepatitis C virus infection. Most of our current knowledge derives from immunohistochemical studies of hepatic biopsy samples obtained from chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients.

Michael Shim, Inessa Khaykis, James Park, Edmund J. Bini – 15 August 2005 – Hepatitis A virus (HAV) superinfection is associated with a high risk of liver failure and death in patients with underlying chronic liver disease. Although HAV vaccination is recommended for all patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, little is known about adherence to these recommendations in clinical practice. The aims of this study were to determine the frequency of HAV testing and vaccination among patients with chronic HCV infection.

Yusuke Yamamoto, Takumi Teratani, Hanako Yamamoto, Gary Quinn, Sigenori Murata, Rieko Ikeda, Kenji Kinoshita, Kenichi Matsubara, Takashi Kato, Takahiro Ochiya – 15 August 2005 – Hepatic differentiation at the molecular level is poorly understood, mainly because of the lack of a suitable model. Recently, using adherent monoculture conditions, we demonstrated the direct differentiation of hepatocytes from embryonic stem (ES) cells.

David A. Rudnick, David H. Perlmutter – 25 July 2005 – Liver disease in alpha‐1‐antitrypsin (α1AT) deficiency is caused by a gain‐of‐toxic function mechanism engendered by the accumulation of a mutant glycoprotein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The extraordinary degree of variation in phenotypical expression of this liver disease is believed to be determined by genetic modifiers and/or environmental factors that influence the intracellular disposal of the mutant glycoprotein or the signal transduction pathways that are activated.

Tom M. Ganten, Ronald Koschny, Tobias L. Haas, Jaromir Sykora, Min Li‐Weber, Kerstin Herzer, Henning Walczak – 21 July 2005 – TRAIL exhibits potent anti‐tumor activity on systemic administration in mice. Because of its proven in vivo efficacy, TRAIL may serve as a novel anti‐neoplastic drug. However, approximately half of the tumor cell lines tested so far are TRAIL resistant, and potential toxic side effects of certain recombinant forms of TRAIL on human hepatocytes have been described.

Nicolas Chignard, Martine Mergey, Véronique Barbu, Laetitia Finzi, Emmanuel Tiret, Annick Paul, Chantal Housset – 21 July 2005 – Vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor‐1 (VPAC1) is the high‐affinity receptor of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a major regulator of bile secretion. To better define the level at which VPAC1 stimulates bile secretion, we examined its expression in the different cell types participating in bile formation (i.e., hepatocytes, bile duct, and gallbladder epithelial cells).

Sachin S. Kunde, Audrey J. Lazenby, Ronald H. Clements, Gary A. Abrams – 21 July 2005 – The upper limit of normal for ALT activity has been recommended to be lowered to ≤30 U/L in men and ≤19 U/L in women. These changes have been suggested to be diagnostically useful in subjects with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Our aim was to investigate the prevalence and spectrum of NAFLD with regard to the new ALT guidelines in 233 women with class II/III obesity. We compared our prior reference range for ALT (ULN ≤ 30 U/L in women) with the new standard.