Retinol binding protein 4 and retinol in steatotic and nonsteatotic rat livers in the setting of partial hepatectomy under ischemia/reperfusion

Maria Elias‐Miró, Marta Massip‐Salcedo, Jens Raila, Florian Schweigert, Mariana Mendes‐Braz, Fernando Ramalho, Mónica B. Jiménez‐Castro, Araní Casillas‐Ramírez, Raquel Bermudo, Antoni Rimola, Juan Rodes, Carmen Peralta – 9 June 2012 – Steatotic livers show increased hepatic damage and impaired regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PH) under ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), which is commonly applied in clinical practice to reduce bleeding. The known function of retinol‐binding protein 4 (RBP4) is to transport retinol in the circulation.

Circulating microRNAs in exosomes indicate hepatocyte injury and inflammation in alcoholic, drug‐induced, and inflammatory liver diseases

Shashi Bala, Jan Petrasek, Shiv Mundkur, Donna Catalano, Ivan Levin, Jeanine Ward, Hawau Alao, Karen Kodys, Gyongyi Szabo – 9 June 2012 – MicroRNAs are fine tuners of diverse biological responses and are expressed in various cell types of the liver. Here we hypothesized that circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) may serve as biomarkers of liver damage and inflammation.

Targeted delivery of interferon‐α to hepatitis B virus‐infected cells using T‐cell receptor‐like antibodies

Changhua Ji, Konduru S.R. Sastry, Georg Tiefenthaler, Jennifer Cano, Tenny Tang, Zi Zong Ho, Denise Teoh, Sandhya Bohini, Antony Chen, Surya Sankuratri, Paul A. Macary, Patrick Kennedy, Han Ma, Stefan Ries, Klaus Klumpp, Erhard Kopetzki, Antonio Bertoletti – 9 June 2012 – During antiviral therapy, specific delivery of interferon‐α (IFNα) to infected cells may increase its antiviral efficacy, trigger a localized immune reaction, and reduce the side effects caused by systemic administration.

Living donor liver transplantation versus deceased donor liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta‐analysis

Wenhua Liang, Linwei Wu, Xiaoting Ling, Paul M. Schroder, Weiqiang Ju, Dongping Wang, Yushu Shang, Yuan Kong, Zhiyong Guo, Xiaoshun He – 9 June 2012 – Because of the severe organ shortage, living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) offers a timely alternative to deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the higher recurrence rate of HCC after LDLT and the indication criteria remain controversial.

Mini‐incision right hepatic lobectomy with or without laparoscopic assistance for living donor hepatectomy

Shunji Nagai, Lloyd Brown, Atsushi Yoshida, Dean Kim, Marwan Kazimi, Marwan S. Abouljoud – 9 June 2012 – Minimally invasive procedures are considered to be safe and effective approaches to the management of surgical liver disease. However, this indication remains controversial for living donor hepatectomy. Between 2000 and 2011, living donor right hepatectomy (LDRH) was performed 58 times. Standard right hepatectomy was performed in 30 patients via a subcostal incision with a midline extension. Minimally invasive procedures began to be used for LDRH in 2008.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis versus steatosis: Adipose tissue insulin resistance and dysfunctional response to fat ingestion predict liver injury and altered glucose and lipoprotein metabolism

Giovanni Musso, Maurizio Cassader, Franco De Michieli, Floriano Rosina, Fabio Orlandi, Roberto Gambino – 8 June 2012 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) ranges from simple steatosis (SS) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Though liver‐related risk seems confined to NASH, it is currently unclear whether NASH has a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes than SS as a result of the coexistence of obesity and other cardiometabolic confounders. Adipose tissue is an emerging modulator of liver disease in NAFLD and of cardiometabolic disease in the general population.

Liver‐specific ablation of Krüppel‐associated box–associated protein 1 in mice leads to male‐predominant hepatosteatosis and development of liver adenoma

Karolina Bojkowska, Fabio Aloisio, Marco Cassano, Adamandia Kapopoulou, Francesca Santoni de Sio, Nadine Zangger, Sandra Offner, Cristina Cartoni, Charles Thomas, Simon Quenneville, Kai Johnsson, Didier Trono – 8 June 2012 – The liver is characterized by sexually dimorphic gene expression translating into sex‐specific differences in lipid, drug, steroid hormone, and xenobiotic metabolism, with distinct responses of males and females to environmental challenges.

Portopulmonary hypertension: An update

Zeenat Safdar, Sonja Bartolome, Norman Sussman – 4 June 2012 – Portopulmonary hypertension (POPH) is a serious complication of cirrhosis that is associated with mortality beyond that predicted by the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score. Increased pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) may be initiated by pulmonary vasoconstriction, altered levels of circulating mediators, or shear stress, and can eventually lead to the classic vascular remodeling (plexiform lesion) that characterizes POPH.

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