Elizabeth J. Carey, Jennifer C. Lai, Connie W. Wang, Srinivasan Dasarathy, Iryna Lobach, Aldo J. Montano‐Loza, Michael A. Dunn, for the Fitness, Life Enhancement, and Exercise in Liver Transplantation Consortium – 27 February 2017 – Sarcopenia is associated with increased wait‐list mortality, but a standard definition is lacking. In this retrospective study, we sought to determine the optimal definition of sarcopenia in end‐stage liver disease (ESLD) patients awaiting liver transplantation (LT). Included were 396 patients newly listed for LT in 2012 at 5 North American transplant centers.

Pamela S. Belperio, Troy A. Shahoumian, Larry A. Mole, Lisa I. Backus – 27 February 2017 – Reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been reported in hepatitis C virus–infected individuals receiving direct‐acting antiviral (DAA) therapy. The overall risk among patients with current or prior HBV infection in the context of DAA treatment is unknown. The aim of this evaluation was to identify and characterize HBV reactivation among veterans treated with oral DAA therapy. This retrospective evaluation included 62,290 hepatitis C virus–infected veterans completing oral DAA treatment.

Woo‐Hyoung Kang, Shin Hwang, Gi‐Won Song, Young‐Joo Lee, Ki‐Hun Kim, Chul‐Soo Ahn, Deok‐Bog Moon, Dong‐Hwan Jung, Gil‐Chun Park, Sung‐Gyu Lee – 27 February 2017 – Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE)–induced complete pathological response (CPR) is known to improve postresection outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to assess the prognostic effects of CPR after preoperative TACE for HCC in patients who underwent hepatic resection (HR) or liver transplantation (LT). The clinical outcomes of patients showing CPR after HR (n = 110) or LT (n = 233) were analyzed.

Wen Zhang, Jieliang Chen, Min Wu, Xiaonan Zhang, Min Zhang, Lei Yue, Yaming Li, Jiangxia Liu, Baocun Li, Fang Shen, Yang Wang, Lu Bai, Ulrike Protzer, Massimo Levrero, Zhenghong Yuan – 25 February 2017 – Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major health problem worldwide. The covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) minichromosome, which serves as the template for the transcription of viral RNAs, plays a key role in viral persistence.

Francesco Esposito, Chetana Lim, Chady Salloum, Michael Osseis, Laurence Baranes, Aurelien Amiot, Philippe Compagnon, Daniel Azoulay – 25 February 2017

Fang Yan, Yi Wang, Wencheng Zhang, Mingyang Chang, Zhiying He, Jinbo Xu, Changzhen Shang, Tao Chen, Jiang Liu, Xin Wang, Xuetao Pei, Yunfang Wang – 25 February 2017 – Maturation of hepatic cells can be gradually acquired through multiple stages of hepatic lineage specification, while it is unclear whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is maturationally lineage‐dependent. We investigated the susceptibility to HCV at multiple stages of human embryonic stem cells, definitive endodermal cells, hepatic stem cells, hepatoblasts (hHBs), and mature hepatocytes.

24 February 2017

24 February 2017

Wei Wang, Ming‐Jiang Xu, Yan Cai, Zhou Zhou, Haixia Cao, Partha Mukhopadhyay, Pal Pacher, Shusen Zheng, Frank J. Gonzalez, Bin Gao – 21 February 2017 – Obesity and alcohol consumption synergistically promote steatohepatitis, and neutrophil infiltration is believed to be associated with steatosis. However, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure.

21 February 2017