Robert J. Fontana – 27 April 2009 – The aim of this review is to summarize the safety profile of the five approved oral nucleoside analogs used to treat chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, focusing on both the class adverse effects and those that have been reported with individual agents, as well as their safety in pregnancy. All nucleoside analogs have a “Black Box” warning because of their potential for inhibition of human DNA polymerase gamma involved in mitochondrial DNA replication.

Jessica I. Cohen, Sanjoy Roychowdhury, Patricia M. DiBello, Donald W. Jacobsen, Laura E. Nagy – 27 April 2009 – Ethanol‐induced liver injury is characterized by increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory cytokines, resulting in the development of hepatic steatosis, injury, and cell death by necrosis and apoptosis. Thioredoxin (Trx), a potent antioxidant and antiinflammatory molecule with antiapoptotic properties, protects animals from a number of inflammatory diseases.

Yoann Morice, Maxime Ratinier, Ahmed Miladi, Stéphane Chevaliez, Georgios Germanidis, Heiner Wedemeyer, Syria Laperche, Jean‐Pierre Lavergne, Jean‐Michel Pawlotsky – 27 April 2009 – The existence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) proteins encoded by alternate reading frames overlapping the core‐encoding region has been suggested. Several mechanisms of production have been postulated, and the functions of these proteins in the HCV life cycle remain unknown.

Wei Huang, Rishipal Bansode, Madhu Mehta, Kamal D. Mehta – 27 April 2009 – Obesity is an energy balance disorder in which intake is greater than expenditure, with most excess calories stored as triglyceride (TG). We previously reported that mice lacking the β‐isoform of protein kinase C (PKCβ), a diacylglycerol‐ and phospholipid‐dependent kinase, exhibit marked reduction in the whole body TG content, including white adipose tissue (WAT) mass.

Chloe L. Thio – 27 April 2009 – Coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus‐1 (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) is common; worldwide, an estimated 10% of HIV‐infected persons have chronic hepatitis B. Because the incidence of traditional acquired immunodeficiency syndrome–related opportunistic infections has decreased with successful anti‐HIV therapy, liver disease has emerged as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV‐infected individuals.

Amalia Gastaldelli, Michaela Kozakova, Kurt Højlund, Allan Flyvbjerg, Angela Favuzzi, Asimina Mitrakou, Beverley Balkau, The RISC Investigators – 27 April 2009 – Patients with fatty liver (FL) disease have a high risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The aim was to evaluate the association between FL, insulin resistance (IR), coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, and early atherosclerosis in a large European population (RISC Study).

Kai Sun, Michele A. Battle, Ravi P. Misra, Stephen A. Duncan – 27 April 2009 – Serum response factor (SRF) is a transcription factor that binds to a CarG box motif within the serum response element of genes that are expressed in response to mitogens. SRF plays essential roles in muscle and nervous system development; however, little is known about the role of SRF during liver growth and function. To examine the function of SRF in the liver, we generated mice in which the Srf gene was specifically disrupted in hepatocytes.

Byung Cheol Yun, W. Ray Kim, Joanne T. Benson, Scott W. Biggins, Terry M. Therneau, Walter K. Kremers, Charles B. Rosen, Goran B. Klintmalm – 27 April 2009 – Hyponatremia is associated with reduced survival in patients with cirrhosis awaiting orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). However, data are sparse regarding the impact of hyponatremia on outcome following OLT. We investigated the effect of hyponatremia at the time of OLT on mortality and morbidity following the procedure. The study included 2,175 primary OLT recipients between 1990 and 2000.

Nadine Huber, Nozomu Sakai, Thorsten Eismann, Thomas Shin, Satoshi Kuboki, John Blanchard, Rebecca Schuster, Michael J. Edwards, Hector R. Wong, Alex B. Lentsch – 27 April 2009 – Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) leads to liver injury and dysfunction through the initiation of a biphasic inflammatory response that is regulated by the transcription factor nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB).

Fei‐Xiang Ding, Fang Wang, Yi‐Ming Lu, Ka Li, Kai‐Hui Wang, Xiao‐Wen He, Shu‐Han Sun – 27 April 2009 – To develop a hepatitis B virus (HBV) therapeutic vaccine that can induce a broad but specific immune response and significant antitumor effects both in vivo and in vitro, we inserted HBV X protein (HBx)‐derived epitopes HBx(52‐60), HBx(92‐100), and HBx(115‐123); a novel subdominant cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitope HBx(140‐148); and the universal T helper epitope pan human leukocyte antigen DR‐binding epitope into HBV core protein to form multiepitope peptide‐loaded virus‐like particles