Marta B. Afonso, Cecília M.P. Rodrigues – 15 November 2017

Chune Liu, Zhihong Yang, Jianguo Wu, Li Zhang, Sangmin Lee, Dong‐Ju Shin, Melanie Tran, Li Wang – 15 November 2017 – H19 is an imprinted long noncoding RNA abundantly expressed in embryonic liver and repressed after birth. We show that H19 serves as a lipid sensor by synergizing with the RNA‐binding polypyrimidine tract‐binding protein 1 (PTBP1) to modulate hepatic metabolic homeostasis. H19 RNA interacts with PTBP1 to facilitate its association with sterol regulatory element‐binding protein 1c mRNA and protein, leading to increased stability and nuclear transcriptional activity.

Patrick Starlinger, David Pereyra, Stefanie Haegele, Paul Braeuer, Lukas Oehlberger, Florian Primavesi, Andreas Kohler, Florian Offensperger, Thomas Reiberger, Arnulf Ferlitsch, Barbara Messner, Guido Beldi, Stefan Staettner, Christine Brostjan, Thomas Gruenberger – 15 November 2017 – von Willebrand Factor (vWF) was found to mediate platelet influx during the early phase of liver regeneration in mice. Furthermore, increased vWF‐antigen (vWF‐Ag) levels were shown to be predictive for outcome of patients with chronic liver disease.

Daniel A. Jaramillo‐Calle, Omar Castaño Quintero, Juan‐Ignacio Marín, Alicia M. Cock‐Rada, Oscar Santos Sánchez, Octavio Muñoz, Juan‐Carlos Restrepo – 15 November 2017

Josep M. Llovet, Mihai Pavel, Jordi Rimola, Maria Alba Diaz, Jordi Colmenero, David Saavedra-Perez, Constantino Fondevila, Carmen Ayuso, Josep Fuster, Pere Ginès, Jordi Bruix, Juan Carlos Garcia-Valdecasas – 15 November 2017 – A subset of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) beyond Milan criteria might obtain acceptable survival outcomes after liver transplantation. Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has emerged as a feasible alternative to overcome the paucity of donors.

Fernando Magdaleno, Xiaodong Ge, Holger Fey, Yongke Lu, Harriet Gaskell, Chuck C. Blajszczak, Costica Aloman, M. Isabel Fiel, Natalia Nieto – 12 November 2017 – The aim of this study was to investigate the role of osteopontin (OPN) in hematopoietic stem cell (HPSC) mobilization to the liver and its contribution to alcoholic liver disease (ALD). We analyzed young (14‐16 weeks) and old (>1.5 years) wild‐type (WT) littermates and global Opn knockout (Opn−/−) mice for HPSC mobilization to the liver. In addition, WT and Opn−/− mice were chronically fed the Lieber–DeCarli diet for 7 weeks.

Francis J. Eng, Ahmed El‐Shamy, Erin H. Doyle, Arielle Klepper, A. Scott Muerhoff, Andrea D. Branch – 12 November 2017 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the most prevalent causes of chronic blood‐borne infections worldwide. Despite developments of highly effective treatments, most infected individuals are unaware of their infection. Approximately 75% of infections are in low‐ and middle‐income countries; therefore, continuing research in HCV molecular virology and the development of vaccines and affordable diagnostics is required to reduce the global burden.

Suthat Liangpunsakul, James J. Beaudoin, Vijay H. Shah, Puneet Puri, Arun J. Sanyal, Patrick S. Kamath, Spencer G. Lourens, Qing Tang, Barry P. Katz, David W. Crabb, Naga P. Chalasani – 11 November 2017 – Only a subset of subjects with excessive alcohol consumption develops alcoholic liver disease (ALD). One of the major risk factors for ALD is the genetic variant of the patatin‐like phospholipase domain‐containing protein 3 (PNPLA3) gene. Coffee is one of the most commonly consumed beverages, and coffee consumption has been associated with lower levels of serum alanine aminotransferase.

Nipun Verma, Shreya Singh, Gitesh Sawatkar, Virendra Singh – 11 November 2017 – Sofosbuvir is an imperative drug used in treatment regimens for hepatitis C virus (HCV). It is considered relatively safe with fewer adverse effects than other treatments. Here, we report a rare and potentially serious, dermatologic, adverse effect following the use of sofosbuvir. A 35‐year‐old man with genotype 3‐related HCV cirrhosis presented with decompensated ascites and jaundice following 7 weeks of therapy with peginterferon alpha‐2a and oral ribavirin.

Paul Adams, Christopher Howlett, Anargyros Xenocostas, Subrata Chakrabarti – 11 November 2017 – A 42‐year‐old man with hemochromatosis and cirrhosis developed aplastic anemia. He underwent liver transplantation from a female donor and splenectomy, and his aplastic anemia spontaneously resolved. A bone marrow examination 6 months after the liver transplant showed 17.5% female cells. He did well for 13 years without the need for any blood product support but then developed bone pain and was found to have metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma in the vertebral bodies.