Adrien Croquelois, Alex Blindenbacher, Luigi Terracciano, Xueya Wang, Igor Langer, Freddy Radtke, Markus H. Heim – 22 February 2005 – The discovery that the human Jagged1 gene (JAG1) is the Alagille syndrome disease gene indicated that Notch signaling has an important role in bile duct homeostasis. The functional study of this signaling pathway has been difficult because mice with targeted mutations in Jagged1, Notch1, or Notch2 have an embryonic lethal phenotype.

Joan Clària, Jeffrey D. Kent, Marta López‐Parra, Ginés Escolar, Luís Ruiz‐del‐Arbol, Pere Ginès, Wladimiro Jiménez, Boris Vucelic, Vicente Arroyo – 22 February 2005 – Nonselective inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) by nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs frequently induces renal failure in decompensated cirrhosis. Studies in experimental cirrhosis suggest that selective inhibitors of the inducible isoform COX‐2 do not adversely affect renal function. However, very limited information is available on the effects of these compounds on renal function in human cirrhosis.

Yoshitaka Kamegaya, Yoichi Hiasa, Lawrence Zukerberg, Nina Fowler, Jason T. Blackard, Wenyu Lin, Won H. Choe, Emmett V. Schmidt, Raymond T. Chung – 22 February 2005 – We developed hepatitis C virus (HCV) core‐E1‐E2 and HCV core transgenic mice on a common genetic background to assess the contribution of HCV structural proteins to hepatocarcinogenesis. Eight‐week‐old core‐E1‐E2, core, and nontransgenic mice inbred on the FVB×C57Bl/6 background were treated with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and sacrificed at 32 weeks old. Proliferation and apoptosis were assessed by immunohistochemistry.

Jaime Bosch, Juan Carlos Reverter – 22 February 2005

Rafael Bañares, Oscar Núñez, María Escudero, Cristina Fernández, Javier Vaquero, Inmaculada Beceiro, Antonio Echenagusía, Gerardo Clemente, Leandro Santos – 22 February 2005 – A trend toward a higher incidence of hepatocelullar carcinoma (HCC) in patients with cirrhosis treated with bare‐stent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) has been observed in previous studies. To assess the influence of TIPS as a risk factor for developing HCC, we have compared the incidence of HCC in two retrospective cohorts of patients.

Chiemi Noguchi, Hiromi Ishino, Masataka Tsuge, Yoshifumi Fujimoto, Michio Imamura, Shoichi Takahashi, Kazuaki Chayama – 22 February 2005 – G to A hypermutation of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1) is induced by a deaminase APOBEC3G and is related to host antiviral defense. APOBEC3G has also been found to reduce the replication of HIV‐1 by an unknown mechanism. This enzyme also reduces the production of hepatitis B virus, although the mechanism for this action has not been clearly elucidated.

Andreas Geier, Gernot Zollner, Christoph G. Dietrich, Martin Wagner, Peter Fickert, Helmut Denk, Nico van Rooijen, Siegfried Matern, Carsten Gartung, Michael Trauner – 22 February 2005 – Cholestatic liver injury is associated not only with accumulation of bile acids but also with activation of proinflammatory cytokines. Common bile duct ligation (CBDL) induces sustained downregulation of the Na+/taurocholate cotransporter (Ntcp) in rodent liver.

George K. Michalopoulos, Lindsay Barua, William C. Bowen – 22 February 2005 – Rats with chimeric livers were generated by using the protocol of injecting hepatocytes from dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV)‐positive donors into retrorsine‐treated DPPIV‐negative recipients subjected to partial hepatectomy. Rats with established chimeric livers were subjected to bile duct ligation, with or without pretreatment with the biliary toxin methylene diamiline (DAPM). Ductules bearing the donor hepatocyte marker DPPIV were seen at 30 days after bile duct ligation.

Stanley M. Lemon, MinKyung Yi, Kui Li – 22 February 2005

Golo Ahlenstiel, Barbara Rehermann – 22 February 2005 – Natural killer (NK) cells provide a central defense against viral infection by using inhibitory and activation receptors for major histocompatibility complex class I molecules as a means of controlling their activity. We show that genes encoding the inhibitory NK cell receptor KIR2DL3 and its human leukocyte antigen C group 1 (HLA‐C1) ligand directly influence resolution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.