Grace L. Su, Lisa Glass, Elliot B. Tapper, Tony Van, Akbar K. Waljee, Anne E. Sales – 5 May 2018 – Access to specialty care has been associated with improved survival in patients with liver disease but universal access is not always feasible. Methods of care delivery using virtual modalities including the SCAN‐ECHO (Specialty Access Network‐Extension of Community Healthcare Outcome) program were implemented by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to address this need but limited data are available on patient outcomes.

Raymond Wu, Ramachandran Murali, Yasuaki Kabe, Samuel W. French, Yi‐Ming Chiang, Siyu Liu, Linda Sher, Clay C. Wang, Stan Louie, Hidekazu Tsukamoto – 5 May 2018 – Drug resistance is a major problem in the treatment of liver cancer. Mammalian Target of Rapamycin 1 (mTORC1) inhibitors have been tested for the treatment of liver cancer based on hyperactive mTOR in this malignancy. However, their clinical trials showed poor outcome, most likely due to their ability to upregulate CD133 and promote chemoresistance.

Sarah Raevens, Michael B. Fallon – 5 May 2018 – Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a relatively common and potentially severe pulmonary complication of cirrhosis with increased risk of mortality. In experimental models, a complex interaction between pulmonary endothelial cells, monocytes, and the respiratory epithelium, which produces chemokines, cytokines, and angiogenic growth factors, causes alterations in the alveolar microvasculature, resulting in impaired oxygenation.

Katrin Manske, Nina Kallin, Verena König, Annika Schneider, Sandra Kurz, Miriam Bosch, Meike Welz, Ru‐Lin Cheng, Bertram Bengsch, Katja Steiger, Ulrike Protzer, Robert Thimme, Percy A. Knolle, Dirk Wohlleber – 5 May 2018 – The liver bears unique immune properties that support both immune tolerance and immunity, but the mechanisms responsible for clearance versus persistence of virus‐infected hepatocytes remain unclear. Here, we dissect the factors determining the outcome of antiviral immunity using recombinant adenoviruses that reflect the hepatropism and hepatrophism of hepatitis viruses.

Catherine Properzi, Therese A. O'Sullivan, Jill L. Sherriff, Helena L. Ching, Garry P. Jeffrey, Rachel F. Buckley, Jonathan Tibballs, Gerry C. MacQuillan, George Garas, Leon A. Adams – 5 May 2018 – Although diet‐induced weight loss is first‐line treatment for patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), long‐term maintenance is difficult. The optimal diet for improvement in either NAFLD or associated cardiometabolic risk factors, regardless of weight loss, is unknown.

Grace L. Su, Lisa Glass, Elliot B. Tapper, Tony Van, Akbar K. Waljee, Anne E. Sales – 5 May 2018 – Access to specialty care has been associated with improved survival in patients with liver disease but universal access is not always feasible. Methods of care delivery using virtual modalities including the SCAN‐ECHO (Specialty Access Network‐Extension of Community Healthcare Outcome) program were implemented by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to address this need but limited data are available on patient outcomes.

Chiara Mazzarelli, Wendy M. Prentice, Michael A. Heneghan, Luca S. Belli, Kosh Agarwal, Mary D. Cannon – 5 May 2018 – Optimal involvement of palliative care (PC) services in the management of patients with decompensated cirrhosis and end‐stage liver disease (ESLD) is limited. This may result from both ignorance and the failure to recognize the spectrum and unpredictability of the underlying liver condition.

Catherine Properzi, Therese A. O'Sullivan, Jill L. Sherriff, Helena L. Ching, Garry P. Jeffrey, Rachel F. Buckley, Jonathan Tibballs, Gerry C. MacQuillan, George Garas, Leon A. Adams – 5 May 2018 – Although diet‐induced weight loss is first‐line treatment for patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), long‐term maintenance is difficult. The optimal diet for improvement in either NAFLD or associated cardiometabolic risk factors, regardless of weight loss, is unknown.

Conghui Wang, Yuqiang Cheng, Xiuping Zhang, Nan Li, Lin Zhang, Shengdian Wang, Xuemei Tong, Ying Xu, Guo‐qiang Chen, Shuqun Cheng, Xuemei Fan, Junling Liu – 5 May 2018 – Polarity defects are frequently involved in liver diseases, such as chronic hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It was reported that vacuolar protein sorting 33B (Vps33b) plays critical roles in the maintenance of hepatocyte polarity; however, the functional roles and mechanisms of Vps33b in HCC occurrence and progression remain unknown.

Siqi Gao, Robert Silasi‐Mansat, Amanda R. Behar, Florea Lupu, Courtney T. Griffin – 5 May 2018 – The serine protease plasmin degrades extracellular matrix (ECM) components both directly and indirectly through activation of matrix metalloproteinases. Excessive plasmin activity and subsequent ECM degradation cause hepatic sinusoidal fragility and hemorrhage in developing embryos. We report here that excessive plasmin activity in a murine acetaminophen (APAP) overdose model likewise compromises hepatic sinusoidal vascular integrity in adult animals.