Philippe Metz, Eva Dazert, Alessia Ruggieri, Johanna Mazur, Lars Kaderali, Artur Kaul, Ulf Zeuge, Marc P. Windisch, Martin Trippler, Volker Lohmann, Marco Binder, Michael Frese, Ralf Bartenschlager – 18 June 2012 – Persistent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) can lead to chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. All current therapies of hepatitis C include interferon‐alpha (IFN‐α). Moreover, IFN‐gamma (IFN‐γ), the only type II IFN, strongly inhibits HCV replication in vitro and is the primary mediator of HCV‐specific antiviral T‐cell responses.

Suzanne E. Mahady, Germaine Wong, Jonathan C. Craig, Jacob George – 18 June 2012 – Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the commonest liver disease in developed countries. However, there are no current data on the cost‐effectiveness of therapeutic options such as lifestyle modification, pioglitazone, or vitamin E. We undertook a cost utility analysis to compare these strategies.

Jeremie Martinet, Vincent Leroy, Tania Dufeu‐Duchesne, Sylvie Larrat, Marie‐Jeanne Richard, Fabien Zoulim, Joel Plumas, Caroline Aspord – 18 June 2012 – The immune control of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is essential for viral clearance. Therefore, restoring functional anti–HBV immunity is a promising immunotherapeutic approach to treatment of chronic infection. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) play a crucial role in triggering antiviral immunity through their ability to capture and process viral antigens and subsequently induce adaptive immune responses.

Lisheng Zhang, Yan‐Dong Wang, Wei‐Dong Chen, Xichun Wang, Guiyu Lou, Nian Liu, Min Lin, Barry M. Forman, Wendong Huang – 18 June 2012 – Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily and is the primary bile acid receptor. We previously showed that FXR was required for the promotion of liver regeneration/repair after physical resection or liver injury. However, the mechanism by which FXR promotes liver regeneration/repair is still unclear.

Li Li, Ronghua Jin, Xiaoli Zhang, Fudong Lv, Lifeng Liu, Daojie Liu, Kai Liu, Ning Li, Dexi Chen – 18 June 2012 – Glypican‐3 (GPC3) is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan that has an important role in cell growth and differentiation, and its function in tumorigenesis is tissue‐dependent. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the overexpression of GPC3 has been demonstrated to be a reliable diagnostic indicator. However, the mechanisms that regulate the expression and function of GPC3 remain unclear.

Antonio Mazzocca, Gianluigi Giannelli – 18 June 2012

Pierre Bedossa, Christine Poitou, Nicolas Veyrie, Jean‐Luc Bouillot, Arnaud Basdevant, Valerie Paradis, Joan Tordjman, Karine Clement – 18 June 2012 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is highly prevalent and being overweight is a significant risk factor. The aim was to build an algorithm along with a scoring system for histopathologic classification of liver lesions that covers the entire spectrum of lesions in morbidly obese patients. A cohort of 679 obese patients undergoing liver biopsy at the time of bariatric surgery was studied.

Heiyoung Park, Elisavet Serti, Onyinyechi Eke, Brian Muchmore, Ludmila Prokunina‐Olsson, Stefania Capone, Antonella Folgori, Barbara Rehermann – 18 June 2012 – Early, vigorous intrahepatic induction of interferon (IFN)‐stimulated gene (ISG) induction is a feature of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, even though HCV inhibits the induction of type I IFNs in vitro.

Pietro Lampertico, Enrico Galmozzi, Massimo Colombo – 18 June 2012

Vered Gazit, Jiansheng Huang, Alexander Weymann, David A. Rudnick – 18 June 2012 – Mice subjected to partial hepatectomy (PH) develop hypoglycemia, followed by increased systemic lipolysis and hepatic fat accumulation, prior to onset of hepatocellular proliferation. Strategies that disrupt these metabolic events inhibit regeneration. These observations suggest that alterations in metabolism in response to hepatic insufficiency promote liver regeneration. Hepatic expression of the peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) influences fat accumulation in the liver.