Juanjuan Shan, Junjie Shen, Limei Liu, Feng Xia, Chuan Xu, Guangjie Duan, Yanmin Xu, Qinghua Ma, Zhi Yang, Qianzhen Zhang, Leina Ma, Jia Liu, Senlin Xu, Xiaochu Yan, Ping Bie, Youhong Cui, Xiu‐wu Bian, Cheng Qian – 2 April 2012 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) exhibits cellular heterogeneity and embryonic stem‐cell–related genes are preferentially overexpressed in a fraction of cancer cells of poorly differentiated tumors. However, it is not known whether or how these cancer cells contribute to tumor initiation and progression.

Pietro Lampertico, Mauro Viganò, Cristina Cheroni, Floriana Facchetti, Federica Invernizzi, Vincenza Valveri, Roberta Soffredini, Sergio Abrignani, Raffaele De Francesco, Massimo Colombo – 2 April 2012 – Interleukin (IL)28B polymorphisms have been associated with interferon (IFN)‐induced viral clearance in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Whether this is also true for patients with the difficult‐to‐cure hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is unknown.

Tadashi Terada – 2 April 2012

Ahmad Kamal – 31 March 2012

Rachel H. Westbrook, Nicholas C. Lea, Azim M. Mohamedali, Alexander E. Smith, David W. Orr, Lara N. Roberts, Nigel D. Heaton, Julia A. Wendon, John G. O'Grady, Michael A. Heneghan, Ghulam J. Mufti – 30 March 2012 – Latent myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs) can be identified by Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) mutations in patients with idiopathic Budd‐Chiari syndrome (BCS). The incidence and clinical outcomes of JAK2 mutations, novel ten‐eleven translocation 2 (TET2) mutations, and the 46/1 haplotype in BCS are unknown for liver transplantation (LT).

Mamatha Bhat, Marc Deschenes, Xianming Tan, Myriam Martel, Venkataramana Bhat, Philip Wong, Peter Metrakos, Peter Ghali – 30 March 2012 – Smoking is a common behavior among transplant candidates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of smoking on a range of complications after liver transplantation. We reviewed data about patient demographics and various complications after liver transplantation that were recorded in the McGill University Health Centre liver transplant database over a 14‐year period. χ2 and multivariate analyses were performed.

Bo Kong, Li Wang, John Y.L. Chiang, Youcai Zhang, Curtis D. Klaassen, Grace L. Guo – 29 March 2012 – Activation of farnesoid X receptor (Fxr, Nr1h4) is a major mechanism in suppressing bile‐acid synthesis by reducing the expression levels of genes encoding key bile‐acid synthetic enzymes (e.g., cytochrome P450 [CYP]7A1/Cyp7a1 and CYP8B1/Cyp8b1). FXR‐mediated induction of hepatic small heterodimer partner (SHP/Shp, Nr0b2) and intestinal fibroblast growth factor 15 (Fgf15; FGF19 in humans) has been shown to be responsible for this suppression.

Valerio Nobili, Guido Carpino, Anna Alisi, Antonio Franchitto, Gianfranco Alpini, Rita De Vito, Paolo Onori, Domenico Alvaro, Eugenio Gaudio – 29 March 2012 – Hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) play a major role in liver repair and regeneration. We evaluated HPC involvement in pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (pNAFLD). Thirty biopsies of consecutive children and adolescents with untreated NAFLD (19 with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis [NASH] and 11 without NASH) were studied using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence.

John K. O'Connor, James Trotter, Gary L. Davis, Jane Dempster, Goran B. Klintmalm, Robert M. Goldstein – 29 March 2012 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is potentially curable with hepatic resection or transplantation. Few patients are eligible for resection, and many face a long wait for donor organ availability for liver transplantation. Here we report the safety and efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), the explant pathology findings and survival of patients treated with SBRT as a bridge to transplantation for HCC.

Emily Rothbaum Perito, Sue Rhee, Dave Glidden, John Paul Roberts, Philip Rosenthal – 29 March 2012 – In adult liver transplant recipients, the donor body mass index (dBMI) is associated with posttransplant obesity but not with graft or patient survival. Because of the obesity epidemic in the United States and the already limited supply of liver donors, clarifying whether the dBMI affects pediatric outcomes is important. United Network for Organ Sharing data for pediatric liver transplants in the United States (1990‐2010) were evaluated.