Johnny Amer, Ahmad Salhab, Mazen Noureddin, Sarit Doron, Lina Abu‐Tair, Rami Ghantous, Mahmud Mahamid, Rifaat Safadi – 14 February 2018 – Insulin resistance is a key risk factor in the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and may lead to liver fibrosis. Natural killer (NK) cells are thought to exert an antifibrotic effect through their killing of activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Here, we investigated how the interplay between NK cells and HSCs are modified by insulin resistance in NAFLD.

Young‐Chan Kwon, Keith Meyer, Guangyong Peng, Soumya Chatterjee, Daniel F. Hoft, Ranjit Ray – 14 February 2018 – A comprehensive strategy to control hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection needs a vaccine. Our phase I study with recombinant HCV E1/E2 envelope glycoprotein (EnvGPs) as a candidate vaccine did not induce a strong immune response in volunteers. We analyzed the interactions of HCV EnvGPs with human monocyte‐derived macrophages as antigen‐presenting cells.

Yosuke Osawa, Ekumi Kojika, Yukiko Hayashi, Masamichi Kimura, Koji Nishikawa, Sachiyo Yoshio, Hiroyoshi Doi, Tatsuya Kanto, Kiminori Kimura – 13 February 2018 – Hepatocyte apoptosis has been implicated in the progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. However, it is unclear whether the induction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α‐mediated hepatocyte apoptosis in the simple fatty liver triggers liver fibrosis. To address this question, high‐fat diet‐fed mice were repeatedly administered D‐galactosamine, which increases the sensitivity of hepatocytes to TNF‐α‐mediated apoptosis.

Junna Wang, Jiajun Li, Quan Zhou, Dandan Zhang, Qiu Bi, Yulin Wu, Wenxiang Huang – 13 February 2018 – Numerous studies have investigated the prognosis value of the liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by transient elastography in assessing the risk of liver‐related events (LREs) and all‐cause mortality in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). However, the shape of the dose–response relationship between them remains unclear.

Stephen D. Zucker, Michael W. Fried – 12 February 2018

Tim F. Greten – 10 February 2018

Ashish Mishra, Alexis Lo, Grace S. Lee, Benjamin Samstein, Peter S. Yoo, Matthew H. Levine, David S. Goldberg, Abraham Shaked, Kim M. Olthoff, Peter L. Abt – 10 February 2018 – Kidney paired exchange (KPE) constitutes 12% of all living donor kidney transplantations (LDKTs) in the United States. The success of KPE programs has prompted many in the liver transplant community to consider the possibility of liver paired exchange (LPE). Though the idea seems promising, the application has been limited to a handful of centers in Asia.

Eduardo H. Gilglioni, Jung‐Chin Chang, Suzanne Duijst, Simei Go, Aziza A. A. Adam, Ruurdtje Hoekstra, Arthur J. Verhoeven, Emy L. Ishii‐Iwamoto, Ronald P.J. Oude Elferink – 9 February 2018 – Primary hepatocyte culture is an important in vitro system for the study of liver functions. In vivo, hepatocytes have high oxidative metabolism. However, oxygen supply by means of diffusion in in vitro static cultures is much less than that by blood circulation in vivo. Therefore, we investigated whether hypoxia contributes to dedifferentiation and deregulated metabolism in cultured hepatocytes.

Karen Saks, Kyle K. Jensen, Joel McLouth, Justine Hum, Joseph Ahn, Atif Zaman, Michael F. Chang, Alice Fung, Barry Schlansky – 9 February 2018 – Cirrhosis and portal hypertension can lead to the formation of a spontaneous splenorenal shunt (SSRS) that may divert portal blood flow to the systemic circulation and reduce hepatic perfusion. Our aims were to evaluate SSRSs as an independent prognostic marker for mortality in patients with decompensated cirrhosis and the influence of SSRSs on liver transplantation (LT) outcomes.

Anna L. Lang, Liya Chen, Gavin D. Poff, Wen‐Xing Ding, Russel A. Barnett, Gavin E. Arteel, Juliane I. Beier – 9 February 2018 – Vinyl chloride (VC), a common industrial organochlorine and environmental pollutant, has been shown to directly cause hepatic angiosarcoma and toxicant‐associated steatohepatitis at high exposure levels. However, the impact of lower concentrations of VC on the progression of underlying liver diseases (e.g., nonalcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD]) is unclear.