Sander Lefere, Frederique Van de Velde, Anne Hoorens, Sarah Raevens, Sanne Van Campenhout, Astrid Vandierendonck, Sara Neyt, Bert Vandeghinste, Christian Vanhove, Charlotte Debbaut, Xavier Verhelst, Jo Van Dorpe, Christophe Van Steenkiste, Christophe Casteleyn, Bruno Lapauw, Hans Van Vlierberghe, Anja Geerts, Lindsey Devisscher – 26 September 2018 – Angiogenesis contributes to the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and promotes inflammation, fibrosis, and progression to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Angiopoietin‐2 (Ang‐2) is a key regulator of angiogenesis.

Anne S. Henkel, Sadiya S. Khan, Shantel Olivares, Toshio Miyata, Douglas E. Vaughan – 26 September 2018 – Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI‐1), an essential regulator of fibrinolysis, is increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders, such as obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Pharmacologic inhibition of PAI‐1 is emerging as a highly promising therapeutic strategy for obesity and its sequelae.

Marina Serper – 26 September 2018

Kara Walter, Christopher K. Johnson, Lena Sibulesky – 26 September 2018

Rahima A. Bhanji, Praveena Narayanan, Michael R. Moynagh, Naoki Takahashi, Mounika Angirekula, Cassie C. Kennedy, Kristin C. Mara, Ross A. Dierkhising, Kymberly D. Watt – 26 September 2018 – Sarcopenia and frailty are commonly encountered in patients with end‐stage liver disease and are associated with adverse clinical outcomes, including decompensation and wait‐list mortality. The impact of these entities in patients with differing disease etiologies has not been elucidated.

Christopher B. O’Brien, Eytan R. Barnea, Paul Martin, Cynthia Levy, Eden Sharabi, Kalyan R. Bhamidimarri, Eric Martin, Leopold Arosemena, Eugene R. Schiff – 26 September 2018 – Preimplantation factor (PIF) is an evolutionary conserved peptide secreted by viable embryos which promotes maternal tolerance without immune suppression. Synthetic PIF (sPIF) replicates native peptide activity. The aim of this study was to conduct the first‐in‐human trial of the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of sPIF in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH).

James A. Heslop, Stephen A. Duncan – 25 September 2018 – The use of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) has transformed the investigation of liver development and disease. Clinical observations and animal models have provided the foundations of our understanding in these fields. While animal models remain essential research tools, long experimental lead times and low throughput limit the scope of investigations.

Sanghoon Lee, Ping Zhou, Anita Gupta, Soona Shin – 25 September 2018 – While reactive ductules (RDs) have been observed in viral hepatitis, biliary atresia, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and adult hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), RDs in pediatric liver cancer remain uncharacterized. This study investigated the relationship of RDs with angiogenic paracrine factors, the extent of angiogenesis, and tumor cell proliferation in pediatric hepatoblastoma (HBL)/HCC livers.

Giovanni Covini, Elena Bredi, Salvatore Badalamenti, Massimo Roncalli, Alessio Aghemo, Massimo Colombo – 25 September 2018 – We report the case of a woman with chronic hepatitis C and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) who developed autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) during antiviral therapy with ledipasvir (LDV)/sofosbuvir (SOF). The onset of acute hepatitis rose two weeks after starting treatment with LDV/SOF when HCV‐RNA tested negative, suggesting a link between rapid HCV clearance and de novo autoimmune diseases.

Takahiro Suda, Tomohide Tatsumi, Akira Nishio, Tadashi Kegasawa, Teppei Yoshioka, Ryoko Yamada, Kunimaro Furuta, Takahiro Kodama, Minoru Shigekawa, Hayato Hikita, Ryotaro Sakamori, Takasuke Fukuhara, Yoshiharu Matsuura, Tetsuo Takehara – 25 September 2018 – Natural killer cells (NK cells) play an essential role in the immunological mechanism underlying chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Impairment of NK cell function facilitates persistent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatocellular carcinogenesis.