Na Shang, Hao Wang, Thomas Bank, Aldeb Perera, Cara Joyce, Gina Kuffel, Michael J. Zilliox, Scott J. Cotler, Xianzhong Ding, Asha Dhanarajan, Peter Breslin, Wei Qiu – 9 May 2019 – There is an urgent need to understand the molecular signaling pathways that drive or mediate the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The focal adhesion kinase (FAK) gene protein tyrosine kinase 2 is amplified in 16.4% of The Cancer Genome Atlas HCC specimens, and its amplification leads to increased FAK mRNA expression.

Nidhi Jalan‐Sakrikar, Thiago M. De Assuncao, Guang Shi, Sayed Obaidullah Aseem, Cheng Chi, Vijay H. Shah, Robert C. Huebert – 9 May 2019 – During biliary disease, cholangiocytes become activated by various pathological stimuli, including transforming growth factor β (TGF‐β). The result is an epigenetically regulated transcriptional program leading to a pro‐fibrogenic microenvironment, activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), and progression of biliary fibrosis.

Elliot B. Tapper, Shengchen Hao, Menghan Lin, John N. Mafi, Heather McCurdy, Neehar D. Parikh, Anna S. Lok – 7 May 2019 – Cirrhosis is morbid and increasingly prevalent, yet the U.S. health care system lacks enough physicians and specialists to adequately manage patients with cirrhosis. Although advanced practice providers (APPs) can expand access to cirrhosis‐related care, their impact on the quality of care remains unknown.

Yongtao Xiao, Runping Liu, Xiaojiaoyang Li, Emily C. Gurley, Phillip B. Hylemon, Ying Lu, Huiping Zhou, Wei Cai – 7 May 2019 – Biliary atresia (BA) is a neonatal liver disease featuring cholestasis and severe liver fibrosis (LF). Despite advances in the development of surgical treatment, lacking an early diagnostic marker and intervention of LF invariably leads to death from end‐stage liver disease in the early years of life.

Masahiro Takeda, Seisuke Sakamoto, Hajime Uchida, Shohei Yoshimura, Seiichi Shimizu, Yoshihiro Hirata, Akinari Fukuda, Andrea Schlegel, Mureo Kasahara – 7 May 2019 – In liver transplantation (LT) for biliary atresia (BA) with situs inversus (SI), the surgical procedure is technically challenging due to multiple anatomical variations. We evaluated the surgical procedures and the outcomes in our patients and in the previously reported patients undergoing LT for BA with SI. Between November 2005 and October 2018, 235 children underwent LT with an overall 10‐year graft survival of 94.7%.

Zhong Xu, Meng Xu, Pin Liu, Shu Zhang, Runze Shang, Yu Qiao, Li Che, Silvia Ribback, Antonio Cigliano, Katja Evert, Rosa M. Pascale, Frank Dombrowski, Matthias Evert, Xi Chen, Diego F. Calvisi, Xin Chen – 7 May 2019 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a deadly form of liver cancer with limited treatment options. The c‐Myc transcription factor is a pivotal player in hepatocarcinogenesis, but the mechanisms underlying c‐Myc oncogenic activity in the liver remain poorly delineated.

Bharat Bhushan, Swati Banerjee, Shirish Paranjpe, Kelly Koral, Wendy M. Mars, John W. Stoops, Anne Orr, William C. Bowen, Joseph Locker, George K. Michalopoulos – 7 May 2019 – Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a critical regulator of hepatocyte proliferation and liver regeneration. Our recent work indicated that EGFR can also regulate lipid metabolism during liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy. Based on these findings, we investigated the role of EGFR in a mouse model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) using a pharmacological inhibition strategy.

Changyong Li, Yuting Jin, Song Wei, Yishuang Sun, Longfeng Jiang, Qiang Zhu, Douglas G. Farmer, Ronald W. Busuttil, Jerzy W. Kupiec‐Weglinski, Bibo Ke – 7 May 2019 – The Hippo pathway, an evolutionarily conserved protein kinase cascade, tightly regulates cell growth and survival. Activation of yes‐associated protein (YAP), a downstream effector of the Hippo pathway, has been shown to modulate tissue inflammation.

Jeanne‐Marie Giard, Jennifer L. Dodge, Norah A. Terrault – 7 May 2019 – Alcohol‐associated liver disease (ALD) is the most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) in the United States and Europe. A 6‐month alcohol abstinence period has been required by many transplant programs prior to listing, which may influence wait‐list (WL) outcomes. Therefore, we examined WL events in patients with ALD versus non‐ALD with a special interest in whether these outcomes differed by sex.

Puja S. Berry, Laura H. Rosenberger, Christopher A. Guidry, Avinash Agarwal, Shawn Pelletier, Robert G. Sawyer – 7 May 2019 – The appropriate duration of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in the presence of significant iatrogenic immunosuppression is unclear. We hypothesized that 72 hours of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis would decrease rates of surgical site infection (SSI) in OLT patients when compared with intraoperative antibiotic prophylaxis alone.