Congenital intrahepatic portocaval shunts and hypoglycemia due to secondary hyperinsulinism: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Congenital portosystemic shunts present with various associated complications, such as other congenital malformations, hyperammonemia, or hepatopulmonary syndrome. Few cases of associated hypoglycemia have been reported so far and our case, to the best of our knowledge, describes the most severe extent of hypoglycemia.

Case Presentation: We describe the case of a newborn Arab boy with two intrahepatic portosystemic shunts, resulting in severe and persistent hypoglycemia, due to which one of the shunts was closed by interventional radiology whereas the other shunt had already closed spontaneously.

Primary Human Hepatocytes Repopulate Livers of Mice After In Vitro Culturing and Lentiviral-Mediated Gene Transfer.

Cell-based therapies represent a promising alternative to orthotopic liver transplantation. However, therapeutic effects are limited by low cell engraftment rates. We recently introduced a technique creating human hepatocyte spheroids for potential therapeutic application.

Interplay of Matrix Stiffness and c-SRC in Hepatic Fibrosis.

Introduction: In liver fibrosis activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) comprises phenotypical change into profibrotic and myofibroplastic cells with increased contraction and secretion of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. The small GTPase RhoA orchestrates cytoskeleton formation, migration, and mobility via non-receptor tyrosine-protein kinase c-SRC (cellular sarcoma) in different cells. Furthermore, RhoA and its downstream effector Rho-kinase also play a crucial role in hepatic stellate cells and hepatic fibrogenesis.

Hepatitis Delta co-infection in humanized mice leads to pronounced induction of innate immune responses in comparison to HBV mono-infection.

Background & Aims: The limited availability of hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) infection models has hindered studies of interactions between HDV and infected hepatocytes. The aim was to investigate the antiviral state of HDV infected human hepatocytes in the setting of co-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) compared to HBV mono-infection using human liver chimeric mice.

Methods: Viral loads, human interferon stimulated genes (hISGs) and cytokines were determined in humanized uPA/SCID/beige (USB) mice by qRT-PCR, ELISA and immunofluorescence.

Binding of hepatitis B virus to its cellular receptor alters the expression profile of genes of bile acid metabolism.

Unlabelled: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been associated with alterations in lipid metabolism. Moreover, the Na+-taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP), responsible for bile acid (BA) uptake into hepatocytes, was identified as the functional cellular receptor mediating HBV entry. The aim of the study was to determine whether HBV alters the liver metabolic profile by employing HBV-infected and uninfected human liver chimeric mice.

Primary human hepatocytes from metabolic-disordered children recreate highly differentiated liver-tissue-like spheroids on alginate scaffolds.

Human hepatocyte transplantation has not been routinely established as an alternative to liver transplantation in liver disease due to low cell engraftment rates. Preimplantation in vitro engineering of liver tissue using primary human hepatocytes on three-dimensional scaffolds could be an alternative model. Alginate bioscaffolds were seeded with 1×10(6) hepatocytes freshly isolated from the livers of three children suffering from different metabolic disorders.

Strong antiviral activity of the new l-hydroxycytidine derivative, l-Hyd4FC, in HBV-infected human chimeric uPA/SCID mice.

Background: Suppression of viral replication with nucleoside/nucleotide inhibitors has been shown to greatly improve the outcome of chronic HBV infection. β-l-nucleoside analogues, especially β-l-deoxycytidine derivatives represent one of the most efficient groups of antiretroviral compounds. We recently described that hydroxylation of the amino group of these β-l-deoxycytidine derivatives preserved their strong HBV inhibitory activity in vitro, but strongly reduced their cytotoxicity.

Primary human hepatocytes on biodegradable poly(l-lactic acid) matrices: a promising model for improving transplantation efficiency with tissue engineering.

Liver transplantation is an established treatment for acute and chronic liver disease. However, because of the shortage of donor organs, it does not fulfill the needs of all patients. Hepatocyte transplantation is promising as an alternative method for the treatment of end-stage liver disease and as bridging therapy until liver transplantation.

Primary rat hepatocyte culture on 3D nanofibrous polymer scaffolds for toxicology and pharmaceutical research.

Primary rat hepatocytes are a widely used experimental model to estimate drug metabolism and toxicity. In currently used two-dimensional (2D) cell culture systems, typical problems like morphological changes and the loss of liver cell-specific functions occur. We hypothesize that the use of polymer scaffolds could overcome these problems and support the establishment of three-dimensional (3D) culture systems in pharmaceutical research.