Astrid Kosters, Raoul J. J. M. Frijters, Cindy Kunne, Edwin Vink, Marit S. Schneiders, Frank G. Schaap, Catherina P. Nibbering, Shailendra B. Patel, Albert K. Groen – 23 December 2004 – The plant sterol diosgenin has been shown to stimulate biliary cholesterol secretion in mice without affecting the expression of the adenosine triphosphate‐binding cassette transporter heterodimer Abcg5/g8. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of diosgenin‐induced cholesterol hypersecretion and to identify the genes involved.

Richard H. Moseley – 23 December 2004 – Sahai A, Malladi P, Melin‐Aldana H, Green RM, Whitington PF. Upregulation of osteopontin expression is involved in the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in a dietary murine model. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2004;287:G264‐G273. (Reprinted with permission of American Physiological Society)

Marianne Ziol, Adriana Handra‐Luca, Adrien Kettaneh, Christos Christidis, Frédéric Mal, Farhad Kazemi, Victor de Lédinghen, Patrick Marcellin, Daniel Dhumeaux, Jean‐Claude Trinchet, Michel Beaugrand – 23 December 2004 – Liver fibrosis is the main predictor of the progression of chronic hepatitis C, and its assessment by liver biopsy (LB) can help determine therapy. However, biopsy is an invasive procedure with several limitations. A new, noninvasive medical device based on transient elastography has been designed to measure liver stiffness.

Ayako Suzuki, Paul Angulo, James Lymp, Jennifer St. Sauver, Ayako Muto, Toshihide Okada, Keith Lindor – 23 December 2004 – The incidence and risk factors of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have never been prospectively determined. To determine the frequency and risk factors of NAFLD and chronological ordering between NAFLD, weight gain, and features of insulin resistance, a historical cohort study was conducted in a Japanese workplace.

Katsunori Shinozaki, Oliver Ebert, Savio L.C. Woo – 23 December 2004 – Viruses that replicate selectively in cancer cells hold considerable promise as novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of malignancy. Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is a nonpathogenic RNA virus with intrinsic oncolytic specificity due to attenuated antiviral responses in many tumors.

Grace L. Su, Ke Qin Gong, Ming Hui Fan, William M. Kelley, Jason Hsieh, Jian Min Sun, Mark R. Hemmila, Saman Arbabi, Daniel G. Remick, Stewart C. Wang – 23 December 2004 – Acetaminophen toxicity is the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States and Europe. Although much is known about the metabolism of acetaminophen, many questions remain regarding the pathogenesis of liver injury.

Michael J. Liguori, Mark G. Anderson, Stanley Bukofzer, James McKim, Jeffrey F. Pregenzer, Jacques Retief, Brian B. Spear, Jeffrey F. Waring – 23 December 2004 – Idiosyncratic drug toxicity, defined as toxicity that is dose independent, host dependent, and usually cannot be predicted during preclinical or early phases of clinical trials, is a particularly confounding complication of drug development. An understanding of the mechanisms that lead to idiosyncratic liver toxicity would be extremely beneficial for the development of new compounds.

Lars E. Schmidt, Kim Dalhoff – 23 December 2004 – An increase in alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) following hepatic necrosis is considered indicative of hepatic regeneration. This study evaluated the prognostic value of serial AFP measurements in patients with severe acetaminophen‐induced liver injury. Prospectively, serial measurements of AFP were performed in 239 patients with acetaminophen intoxication and a peak alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level above 1,000 U/L. AFP was measured using an enzyme‐linked immunoassay (EIA) with a detection limit below 0.4 μg/L.

Marwan S. Abougergi, Sarah J. Gidner, David K. Spady, Bonnie C. Miller, Dwain L. Thiele – 23 December 2004 – After intravenous injection of replication‐deficient adenovirus, hepatocytes are transduced and express high levels of adenovirus‐encoded genes. However, adenovirally encoded gene expression is ablated rapidly by CD8+ T‐cell–dependent mechanisms. Thus, this model is suitable for examining intrahepatic cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) effector mechanisms.

Scott W. Biggins, Harry J. Rodriguez, Peter Bacchetti, Nathan M. Bass, John P. Roberts, Norah A. Terrault – 23 December 2004 – With the implementation of the model for end‐stage liver disease (MELD), refractory ascites, a known predictor of mortality in cirrhosis, was removed as a criterion for liver allocation. Because ascites is associated with low serum sodium, we evaluated serum sodium as an independent predictor of mortality in patients with cirrhosis who were listed for liver transplantation and whether the addition of serum sodium to MELD was superior to MELD alone.