Elwyn Elias – 22 February 2006

Burton Combes, Scott S. Emerson – 22 February 2006

Martin Stockmann, Thomas Konrad, Sabine Nolting, Diana Hünerbein, Klaus‐Dieter Wernecke, Helena Döbling, Thomas Steinmüller, Peter Neuhaus – 22 February 2006 – Controversial data exists concerning the impact of immunosuppressive therapy on the development of post‐transplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM). Therefore, we investigated glucose metabolism in healthy donors and in recipients of living‐donor liver transplants (LD‐LTX, n=18) without pre‐existing diabetes mellitus before, on day 10, month 6, and month 12 after intervention.

Anita Pathil, Sorin Armeanu, Sascha Venturelli, Paolo Mascagni, Thomas S. Weiss, Michael Gregor, Ulrich M. Lauer, Michael Bitzer – 22 February 2006 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) displays a striking resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs or innovative tumor cell apoptosis–inducing agents such as tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL). Recently, we found 2 histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDAC‐I), valproic acid and ITF2357, exhibiting inherent therapeutic activity against HCC.

M. Salud García‐Ayllón, M. Ximena Silveyra, Asunción Candela, Antonio Compañ, Joan Clària, Rodrigo Jover, Miguel Pérez‐Mateo, Vicente Felipo, Salvador Martínez, Joan Galcerán, Javier Sáez‐Valero – 22 February 2006 – Classical studies of cholinesterase activity during liver dysfunction have focused on butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), whereas acetylcholinesterase (AChE) has not received much attention. In the current study, liver and plasma AChE levels were investigated in rats with cirrhosis induced after 3 weeks of bile duct ligation (BDL).

Chihiro Morishima, Denise M. Paschal, Chia C. Wang, Christina S. Yoshihara, Brent L. Wood, Anthony E. T. Yeo, Scott S. Emerson, Margaret C. Shuhart, David R. Gretch – 22 February 2006 – Prior studies have suggested that natural killer (NK) cell function might be impaired in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Circulating NK cell frequency and cytolytic activity were examined freshly ex vivo in HCV‐infected and uninfected subjects. Surprisingly, the intrinsic cytolytic activity of peripheral blood NK‐enriched cells was similar between HCV‐infected and uninfected groups (P = .91).

Claudia Zwingmann, Marc Bilodeau – 22 February 2006 – The hepatoprotective mechanisms of N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) in non–acetaminophen‐induced liver injury have not been studied in detail. We investigated the possibility that NAC could affect key pathways of hepatocellular metabolism with or without changes in glutathione (GSH) synthesis. Hepatocellular metabolites and high‐energy phosphates were quantified from mouse liver extracts by 1H‐ and 31P‐NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy.

Peter A Bonis, Marshall Kaplan – 22 February 2006

Adrian Reuben – 22 February 2006

Jérôme Dumortier, Sophie Bernard, Yves Bouffard, Olivier Boillot – 22 February 2006 – Adverse effects associated with calcineurin inhibitors may impact their clinical utility in some patients. This study characterizes the clinical outcomes of liver transplanted (LT) patients who experienced diabetes mellitus (DM) on tacrolimus‐based regimen and were converted to cyclosporine‐based therapy. Since January 2002, all patients with DM on a tacrolimus‐based regimen were recruited and converted to cyclosporine‐based therapy, after a 6‐month minimal follow‐up after LT.