Alessia Bortoluzzi, Giulio Ceolotto, Elisabetta Gola, Antonietta Sticca, Sergio Bova, Filippo Morando, Salvatore Piano, Silvano Fasolato, Silvia Rosi, Angelo Gatta, Paolo Angeli – 22 August 2012 – The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect and molecular mechanism of albumin infusion on cardiac contractility in experimental cirrhosis with ascites. Cardiac contractility was recorded ex vivo in rats with cirrhosis and ascites and in control rats after the injection in the caudal vein of albumin, saline, or hydroxyethyl starch (HES).

Akira Honda, Tadashi Ikegami, Makoto Nakamuta, Teruo Miyazaki, Junichi Iwamoto, Takeshi Hirayama, Yoshifumi Saito, Hajime Takikawa, Michio Imawari, Yasushi Matsuzaki – 22 August 2012 – Bezafibrate is a widely used hypolipidemic agent and is known as a ligand of the peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptors (PPARs). Recently this agent has come to be recognized as a potential anticholestatic medicine for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) that does not respond sufficiently to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) monotherapy.

Limin Xia, Wenjie Huang, Dean Tian, Hongwu Zhu, Xingshun Qi, Zheng Chen, Yongguo Zhang, Hao Hu, Daiming Fan, Yongzhan Nie, Kaichun Wu – 22 August 2012 – Recurrence and metastasis remain the most common causes of lethal outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative resection. Thus, it is critical to discover the mechanisms underlying HCC metastasis. Forkhead box C1 (FoxC1), a member of the Fox family of transcription factors, induces epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) and promotes epithelial cell migration.

Sayuri Nitta, Naoya Sakamoto, Mina Nakagawa, Sei Kakinuma, Kako Mishima, Akiko Kusano‐Kitazume, Kei Kiyohashi, Miyako Murakawa, Yuki Nishimura‐Sakurai, Seishin Azuma, Megumi Tasaka‐Fujita, Yasuhiro Asahina, Mitsutoshi Yoneyama, Takashi Fujita, Mamoru Watanabe – 22 August 2012 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection blocks cellular interferon (IFN)‐mediated antiviral signaling through cleavage of Cardif by HCV‐NS3/4A serine protease.

Vincenzo Mazzaferro, Carlo Sposito, Sherrie Bhoori, Raffaele Romito, Carlo Chiesa, Carlo Morosi, Marco Maccauro, Alfonso Marchianò, Marco Bongini, Rodolfo Lanocita, Enrico Civelli, Emilio Bombardieri, Tiziana Camerini, Carlo Spreafico – 22 August 2012 – Yttrium‐90 radioembolization (Y90RE) is a novel approach to radiation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), never tested in phase 2 studies. Fifty‐two patients with intermediate (n.17) to advanced (n.35) HCC were prospectively recruited to assess, as the primary endpoint, efficacy of Y90RE on time‐to‐progression (TTP).

Wei‐Dong Chen, Donna Yu, Barry M. Forman, Wendong Huang, Yan‐Dong Wang – 22 August 2012 – Gpbar1 (TGR5), a membrane‐bound bile acid receptor, is well known for its roles in regulation of energy homeostasis and glucose metabolism. TGR5 activation also inhibits nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB)‐mediated inflammation. Here we show that TGR5 deficiency enhances chemically induced liver carcinogenesis, and that TGR5 is a negative regulator of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling.

Alexander Pedroza‐Gonzalez, Cornelis Verhoef, Jan N. M. Ijzermans, Maikel P. Peppelenbosch, Jaap Kwekkeboom, Joanne Verheij, Harry L. A. Janssen, Dave Sprengers – 22 August 2012 – The mechanisms that enable liver cancer to escape elimination by the immune system remain unclear, but their elucidation may provide novel therapeutic interventions.

Joo‐Won Park, Woo‐Jae Park, Yael Kuperman, Sigalit Boura‐Halfon, Yael Pewzner‐Jung, Anthony H. Futerman – 22 August 2012 – Sphingolipids are important structural components of cell membranes and act as critical regulators of cell function by modulating intracellular signaling pathways.

Nikolaus Jilg, Raymond T. Chung – 22 August 2012

Philip Lee, Waifook Leong, Trish Tan, Miangkee Lim, Weiping Han, George K. Radda – 22 August 2012 – The pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes is characterized by impaired insulin action and increased hepatic glucose production (HGP). Despite the importance of hepatic metabolic aberrations in diabetes development, there is currently no molecular probe that allows measurement of hepatic gluconeogenic pathways in vivo and in a noninvasive manner.