βII‐Spectrin (SPTBN1) suppresses progression of hepatocellular carcinoma and Wnt signaling by regulation of Wnt inhibitor kallistatin

Xiuling Zhi, Ling Lin, Shaoxian Yang, Krithika Bhuvaneshwar, Hongkun Wang, Yuriy Gusev, Mi‐Hye Lee, Bhaskar Kallakury, Narayan Shivapurkar, Katherine Cahn, Xuefei Tian, John L. Marshall, Stephen W. Byers, Aiwu R. He – 12 October 2014 – βII‐Spectrin (SPTBN1) is an adapter protein for Smad3/Smad4 complex formation during transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β) signal transduction. Forty percent of SPTBN1+/− mice spontaneously develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and most cases of human HCC have significant reductions in SPTBN1 expression.

Rho‐kinase inhibitor targeting the liver prevents ischemia/reperfusion injury in the steatotic liver without major systemic adversity in rats

Shintaro Kuroda, Hirotaka Tashiro, Yasuhiro Kimura, Kaori Hirata, Misaki Tsutada, Yoshihiro Mikuriya, Tsuyoshi Kobayashi, Hironobu Amano, Yuka Tanaka, Hideki Ohdan – 11 October 2014 – Rho‐kinase (ROCK) inhibitors improve liver blood flow after ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury, especially in the setting of steatosis, by decreasing the resistance of intrahepatic microcirculation through hepatic stellate cell (HSC) relaxation. However, the systemic administration of ROCK inhibitors causes severe hypotension; therefore, liver‐specific ROCK inhibition is required.

Therapeutic hypothermia in acute liver failure: A multicenter retrospective cohort analysis

Constantine J. Karvellas, R. Todd Stravitz, Holly Battenhouse, William M. Lee, Michael L. Schilsky, for the US Acute Liver Failure Study Group – 11 October 2014 – The benefit of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in acute liver failure (ALF) has not been previously demonstrated in a controlled fashion. This study sought to determine the impact of TH on 21‐day survival and complications in ALF patients at high risk for cerebral edema. This was a retrospective cohort study of ALF patients in the US Acute Liver Failure Study Group with grade III or IV hepatic encephalopathy.

Vasculobiliary complications following adult right lobe split liver transplantation from the perspective of reconstruction techniques

Moustafa Mabrouk Mourad, Christos Liossis, Senthil Kumar, Bridget K. Gunson, Hynek Mergental, John Isaac, Simon R. Bramhall, Paolo Muiesan, Darius F. Mirza, M. Thamara P. R. Perera – 10 October 2014 – Split liver transplantation (SLT) compensates for the organ shortage and provides an alternative solution for recipients disadvantaged by a smaller body size.

Preoperative simulation with a 3‐dimensional printed solid model for one‐step reconstruction of multiple hepatic veins during living donor liver transplantation

Zhassulan Baimakhanov, Akihiko Soyama, Mitsuhisa Takatsuki, Masaaki Hidaka, Takanori Hirayama, Ayaka Kinoshita, Koji Natsuda, Tamotsu Kuroki, Susumu Eguchi – 10 October 2014

Genetic variation in transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 and the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and histological disease severity

Silvia Sookoian, Gustavo O. Castaño, Romina Scian, Pablo Mallardi, Tomas Fernández Gianotti, Adriana L. Burgueño, Julio San Martino, Carlos J. Pirola – 10 October 2014 – We explored the role of transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2) rs58542926 C/T nonsynonymous (p.Glu167Lys) variant in genetic susceptibility to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and disease severity. A total of 361 individuals (135 control subjects and 226 patients with histologically proven NAFLD) were included in a sample with 97% power for the additive genetic model.

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