Serum microcystin levels positively linked with risk of hepatocellular carcinoma: A case‐control study in southwest China

Chuanfen Zheng, Hui Zeng, Hui Lin, Jia Wang, Xiaobin Feng, Zhiqun Qiu, Ji‐an Chen, Jiaohua Luo, Yang Luo, Yujing Huang, Lingqiao Wang, Wenyi Liu, Yao Tan, Anwei Xu, Yuan Yao, Weiqun Shu – 9 June 2017 – Microcystins have been reported to be carcinogenic by animal and cell experimentation, but there are no data on the linkage between serum microcystins and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk in humans.

Hepatic lipophagy: New insights into autophagic catabolism of lipid droplets in the liver

Ryan J. Schulze, Kristina Drižytė, Carol A. Casey, Mark A. McNiven – 9 June 2017 – The liver is a central fat‐storage organ, making it especially susceptible to steatosis as well as subsequent inflammation and cirrhosis. The mechanisms by which the liver mobilizes stored lipid for energy production, however, remain incompletely defined. The catabolic process of autophagy, a well‐known process of bulk cytoplasmic recycling and cellular self‐regeneration, is a central regulator of lipid metabolism in the liver.

Significant association between FOXP3 gene polymorphism and steroid‐resistant acute rejection in living donor liver transplantation

Sapana Verma, Yuka Tanaka, Seiichi Shimizu, Naoki Tanimine, Hideki Ohdan – 8 June 2017 – Previous studies have found that preferential accumulation of regulatory T (Treg) cells in liver allografts during acute cellular rejection (ACR) is associated with less severe rejection, suggesting a role of Treg cells in preventing excessive progress of ACR. We investigated the impact of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) gene, a master regulator gene of Treg cells, on ACR severity in liver transplant (LT) recipients.

Developing multicenter consortia in liver disease in Latin America: Challenges and opportunities

Manuel Mendizabal, Marcelo O. Silva – 7 June 2017 – The development of consortia has been useful for exploring challenging scenarios and uncharted territories in liver disease treatments. Several consortia already developed in the United States and Europe have become key factors in patient care decision‐making processes and medical education, and they have also impacted policy makers' decisions. In Latin America, the situation is different.

Living donor liver transplantation for post‐Kasai biliary atresia: Analysis of pretransplant predictors of outcomes in infants

Toshihiro Kitajima, Seisuke Sakamoto, Kengo Sasaki, Hajime Uchida, Soichi Narumoto, Akinari Fukuda, Satoshi Teramukai, Shinji Uemoto, Mureo Kasahara – 7 June 2017 – After decades of dramatic surgical innovations in pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), LDLT for biliary atresia (BA) still poses various challenges. This study reviewed our experience with LDLT for children with post‐Kasai BA and evaluated outcomes and prognostic factors. From 2005 to 2016, 168 post‐Kasai BA LDLT patients were enrolled and divided into 3 groups by age.

The donor risk index: A decade of experience

Avegail Flores, Sumeet K. Asrani – 7 June 2017 – In 2006, derivation of the donor risk index (DRI) highlighted the importance of donor factors for successful liver transplantation. Over the last decade, the DRI has served as a useful metric of donor quality and has enhanced our understanding of donor factors and their impact upon recipients with hepatitis C virus, those with low Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, and individuals undergoing retransplantation.

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