Weiwei Shan, Christopher J. Nicol, Shinji Ito, Moses T. Bility, Mary J. Kennett, Jerrold M. Ward, Frank J. Gonzalez, Jeffrey M. Peters – 26 December 2007 – Potential functional roles for the peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐β/δ (PPARβ/δ) in skeletal muscle fatty acid catabolism and epithelial carcinogenesis have recently been described. Whereas PPARβ/δ is expressed in liver, its function in this tissue is less clear.

ZhengZheng Li, Michael Berk, Thomas M. McIntyre, Gregory J. Gores, Ariel E. Feldstein – 20 December 2007 – Impaired mitochondrial function is largely thought to be a core abnormality responsible for disease progression in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the molecular mechanisms resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction in NAFLD remain poorly understood. This study examined the effects of excessive accumulation of free fatty acids (FFAs) in liver cells on mitochondrial function and the role of the lysosomal‐mitochondrial axis on lipotoxicity.

Cheng‐Hui Hsiao, Mei‐Hwei Chang, Huey‐Ling Chen, Hung‐Chang Lee, Tzee‐Chung Wu, Chieh‐Chung Lin, Yao‐Jong Yang, An‐Chyi Chen, Mao‐Meng Tiao, Beng‐Huat Lau, Chia‐Hsiang Chu, Ming‐Wei Lai – 20 December 2007 – Biliary atresia is the most common cause of death from liver disease in children. Although the Kasai operation before 60 days of age can significantly improve prognosis, delay in referral and surgery remains a formidable problem worldwide because of difficulties in differentiating it from benign prolonged neonatal jaundice.

Flavien Bernardin, Leslie Tobler, Irina Walsh, Joan Dunn Williams, Mike Busch, Eric Delwart – 20 December 2007 – We determined whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA could be detected associated with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of seropositive blood donors who had spontaneously or therapeutically cleared their plasma viremia. Blood donor plasma viremia status was first determined with a highly sensitive transcription‐mediated amplification (TMA) test performed in duplicate assays.

M. Michele Manos, Wendy A. Leyden, Rosemary C. Murphy, Norah A. Terrault, Beth P. Bell – 20 December 2007 – Standard death certificate–based methods for ascertaining deaths due to chronic liver disease (CLD), such as the U.S. vital statistics approach, rely on a limited set of diagnostic codes to define CLD. These codes do not include viral hepatitis or consider hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) deaths, and thus, underestimate the true burden of CLD mortality. Deaths associated with CLD may be further misunderstood because of the inherent limitations of death record information.

Anita C.G. Chua, Carly E. Herbison, Sarah F. Drake, Ross M. Graham, John K. Olynyk, Debbie Trinder – 20 December 2007 – HFE‐related hereditary hemochromatosis results in hepatic iron overload. Hepatocytes acquire transferrin‐bound iron via transferrin receptor (Tfr) 1 and Tfr1‐independent pathways (possibly Tfr2‐mediated). In this study, the role of Hfe in the regulation of hepatic transferrin‐bound iron uptake by these pathways was investigated using Hfe knockout mice.

Jae‐Sung Kim, Takashi Nitta, Dagmara Mohuczy, Kerri A. O'Malley, Lyle L. Moldawer, William A. Dunn, Kevin E. Behrns – 20 December 2007 – Autophagy selectively removes abnormal or damaged organelles such as dysfunctional mitochondria. The mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) is a marker of impaired mitochondrial function that is evident in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and autophagy in I/R injury is unknown.

Xin Hu, Yingjun Zhao, Xianghuo He, Jinjun Li, Tao Wang, Weiping Zhou, Dafang Wan, Hongyang Wang, Jianren Gu – 19 December 2007 – Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) plays important roles in a variety of tissues including neural and non‐neural systems, but the function of CNTF and its receptor (CNTFR) in liver remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that CNTFRα is expressed heterogeneously in normal human liver and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) specimens but not in hepatoblastoma specimens.

William M. Lee, Robert H. Squires, Scott L. Nyberg, Edward Doo, Jay H. Hoofnagle – 19 December 2007 – Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare but challenging clinical syndrome with multiple causes; a specific etiology cannot be identified in 15% of adult and 50% of pediatric cases. The course of ALF is variable and the mortality rate is high. Liver transplantation is the only therapy of proven benefit, but the rapidity of progression and the variable course of ALF limit its use.

Jonel Trebicka, Ludger Leifeld, Martin Hennenberg, Erwin Biecker, Andreas Eckhardt, Nicolas Fischer, Andrea Schulze Pröbsting, Christoph Clemens, Frank Lammert, Tilman Sauerbruch, Jörg Heller – 19 December 2007 – In cirrhosis, splanchnic vasodilation contributes to portal hypertension, subsequent renal sodium retention, and formation of ascites. Urotensin II(U‐II) is a constrictor of large conductive vessels. Conversely, it relaxes mesenteric vessels, decreases glomerular filtration, and increases renal sodium retention. In patients with cirrhosis, U‐II plasma levels are increased.