Claudio Puoti, Lia Bellis, Roberto Castellacci, Fabrizio Montagnese – 22 February 2005

Giuliana Montosi, Elena Corradini, Cinzia Garuti, Samuele Barelli, Stefania Recalcati, Gaetano Cairo, Linda Valli, Elisa Pignatti, Chiara Vecchi, Francesca Ferrara, Antonello Pietrangelo – 22 February 2005 – Hepcidin, the iron hormone, is produced by the liver in response to iron and inflammation. Its synthesis during inflammation is triggered by cytokines, but the details of iron activation are obscure.

Jay H. Hoofnagle – 22 February 2005

Sigal Kremer‐Tal, Helen Reeves, Goutham Narla, John Martignetti, Scott Friedman – 22 February 2005

Ekihiro Seki, Hiroko Tsutsui, Yuji Iimuro, Tetsuji Naka, Gakuhei Son, Shizuo Akira, Tadamitsu Kishimoto, Kenji Nakanishi, Jiro Fujimoto – 22 February 2005 – Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) act as innate immune signal sensors and play central roles in host defense. Myeloid differentiation factor (MyD) 88 is a common adaptor molecule required for signaling mediated by TLRs. When the receptors are activated, cells bearing TLRs produce various proinflammatory cytokines in a MyD88‐dependent manner.

Michiel P.C. Siroen, Joost R. M. van der Sijp, Tom Teerlink, Cors van Schaik, Robert J. Nijveldt, Paul A. M. van Leeuwen – 22 February 2005 – Asymmetric (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) inhibit production of nitric oxide. The concentration of both dimethylarginines is regulated by urinary excretion, although ADMA, but not SDMA, is also subject to degradation by dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase, which is highly expressed in the liver but also present in the kidney. The exact roles of the human liver and kidney in the metabolism of dimethylarginines are currently unknown.

Armando Tripodi, Francesco Salerno, Veena Chantarangkul, Marigrazia Clerici, Massimo Cazzaniga, Massimo Primignani, Pier Mannuccio Mannucci – 22 February 2005 – The role played by coagulation defects in the occurrence of bleeding in cirrhosis is still unclear. This is partly due to the lack of tests that truly reflect the balance of procoagulant and anticoagulant factors in vivo.

Nicholas J. Shaheen, Eugene Stuart, Sarah M. Schmitz, Kate L. Mitchell, Michael W. Fried, Steven Zacks, Mark W. Russo, Joseph Galanko, Roshan Shrestha – 22 February 2005 – Elective esophageal variceal ligation (EVL) is performed to decrease the risk of variceal hemorrhage. Side effects of EVL include hemorrhage, chest pain, dysphagia, and odynophagia. Because gastric acid may exacerbate postbanding ulcers and delay healing, proton pump inhibition may decrease side effects associated with EVL.

Joaquin de la Peña, Enric Brullet, Eloy Sanchez‐Hernández, Monserrat Rivero, Mercedes Vergara, Jose Luis Martin‐Lorente, Covadonga Garcia Suárez – 22 February 2005 – β‐Blockers and endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) have proven to be valuable methods in the prevention of variceal rebleeding. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of EVL combined with nadolol versus EVL alone as secondary prophylaxis for variceal bleeding. Patients admitted for acute variceal bleeding were treated during emergency endoscopy with EVL or sclerotherapy and received somatostatin for 5 days.

Kumiko Isse, Kenichi Harada, Yoh Zen, Takashi Kamihira, Shinji Shimoda, Mine Harada, Yasuni Nakanuma – 22 February 2005 – Fractalkine is a chemokine with both chemoattractant and cell‐adhesive functions, and in the intestine it is involved with its receptor CX3CR1 in the chemoattraction and recruitment of intraepithelial lymphocytes. We examined the pathophysiological roles of fractalkine and CX3CR1 in normal and diseased bile ducts.