2016 Comprehensive Update of the Banff Working Group on Liver Allograft Pathology: Introduction of Antibody-Mediated Rejection.

The Banff Working Group on Liver Allograft Pathology reviewed and discussed literature evidence regarding antibody-mediated liver allograft rejection at the 11th (Paris, France, June 5-10, 2011), 12th (Comandatuba, Brazil, August 19-23, 2013), and 13th (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, October 5-10, 2015) meetings of the Banff Conference on Allograft Pathology. Discussion continued online. The primary goal was to introduce guidelines and consensus criteria for the diagnosis of liver allograft antibody-mediated rejection and provide a comprehensive update of all Banff Schema recommendations.

B cell depletion therapy upregulates Dkk-1 skin expression in patients with systemic sclerosis: association with enhanced resolution of skin fibrosis.

Background: Rituximab (RTX) may favorably affect skin and lung fibrosis in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc); however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. We aimed to explore the hypothesis that RTX may mediate its antifibrotic effects by regulating the expression of Dickkopf-1 (Dkk-1), an inhibitor of the Wnt pathway.

Methods: Fourteen patients with SSc and five healthy subjects were recruited.

Spontaneous Cirrhosis Regression in an IFN-beta-induced AIH-like Syndrome Following Drug Withdrawal: Art of Facts or Artifacts?

Unlabelled: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a disease of unknown aetiology with drug-induced AIH being the most complex and not fully understood type. We present the case of a 57-year-old female patient with acute icteric hepatitis after interferon-beta-1b (IFNβ-1b) administration for multiple sclerosis (MS). Based on liver autoimmune serology, histology and appropriate exclusion of other liver diseases, a diagnosis of AIH-related cirrhosis was established.

HER Family Protein Expression in a Greek Population with Gastric Cancer. A Retrospective Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group Study.

Background: Gastric cancer is a relatively common malignancy. Recently, the presence of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) was identified as a molecular target in a proportion of patients who benefited from the addition of appropriate anti-HER2 treatments. Our study explored the clinical and prognostic role of known HER family members, human epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (EGFR or HER1), HER2, HER3 and HER4.

Intestinal barrier dysfunction in cirrhosis: Current concepts in pathophysiology and clinical implications.

The intestinal lumen is a host place for a wide range of microbiota and sets a unique interplay between local immune system, inflammatory cells and intestinal epithelium, forming a physical barrier against microbial invaders and toxins. Bacterial translocation is the migration of viable or nonviable microorganisms or their pathogen-associated molecular patterns, such as lipopolysaccharide, from the gut lumen to the mesenteric lymph nodes, systemic circulation and other normally sterile extraintestinal sites. A series of studies have shown that translocation of bacteria and their products across the intestinal barrier is a commonplace in patients with liver disease.

Efficacy of Interferon A-2b monotherapy in Β-thalassemics with chronic hepatitis C.

Background & Aims: Monotherapy with standard or pegylated interferon (PegIFN) remains the first-line treatment for HCV infection in patients with thalassemia major (βTM), although its long-term impact is still unknown. We aimed to assess the efficacy of IFN-a2b/PegIFN-a2b (one or multiple treatment sessions) and the predictors for sustained virological response (SVR) in HCV-infected βTM patients.

Methods: Between 11/1992 and 12/2013 [median follow-up: 165.

Giant malignant insulinoma.

Insulinomas are the most common pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Most insulinomas are benign, small, intrapancreatic solid tumors and only large tumors have a tendency for malignancy. Most patients present with symptoms of hypoglycemia that are relieved with the administration of glucose.

Evaluation of the distribution of Paclitaxel by immunohistochemistry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy after the application of a drug-eluting balloon in the porcine ureter.

Background And Purpose: The urothelium represents "the tightest and most impermeable barrier in the body." We investigated the distribution of paclitaxel (PTX) in the ureteral wall after the inflation of a paclitaxel-eluting balloon (PEB) in an attempt to elucidate the possibility of clinical application of PEBs in the ureter.

Materials And Methods: Nine domestic pigs were used.

Facial nerve palsy, headache, peripheral neuropathy and Kaposi's sarcoma in an elderly man.

We present a case of an elderly man, who initially presented with right facial nerve palsy, ipsilateral headache, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and no fever. A presumptive diagnosis of giant cell arteritis was made and the patient was treated with high-dose steroids. A temporal artery biopsy was negative.

Expression of claudins-1, -4, -5, -7 and occludin in hepatocellular carcinoma and their relation with classic clinicopathological features and patients' survival.

Background: Occludin and claudins are integral constituents of tight junction proteins and are de-regulated in various malignancies, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study investigated whether expression of claudins 1, 4, 5, 7 and occludin may be used as prognostic markers for overall and disease-free survival in patients with HCC after hepatectomy.

Patients And Methods: The study included 67 hepatectomy specimens obtained from an equal number of patients with HCC who underwent partial hepatectomy at the Patras University Hospital for therapeutic reasons.

Vaginal primary malignant melanoma: a rare and aggressive tumor.

Vaginal primary malignant melanoma is a rare and very aggressive tumor. It most commonly occurs in postmenopausal women, with a mean age of 57 years. Our patient is an 80-year-old, postmenopausal Greek woman presented with a complaint of abnormal vaginal bleeding.

Hepatitis C in patients with β-thalassemia major. A single-centre experience.

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and iron overload are the main causes of liver disease in β-thalassemia major (βTM). There is limited data regarding the course of CHC in this population. All patients (n=144) from the thalassemia centre of the University Hospital of Patras were evaluated (January 1981 to June 2012).

Intestinal mucosal proliferation, apoptosis and oxidative stress in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Background: Intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction in liver cirrhosis and its implicated mechanisms is of great clinical importance because it is associated with the development of serious complications from diverse organs through promotion of systemic endotoxemia.

Aim: The present study was designed to investigate whether enterocytes' proliferation, apoptosis and intestinal oxidative stress are altered in the intestinal mucosa of patients with compensated and decompensated liver cirrhosis.

Material And Methods: Twelve healthy controls (group A) and twenty four cirrhotic patients at a compensated (n = 12, group B) or decompensated condition (n = 12, group C) were subjected to duodenal biopsy.

Biomarkers of benefit from cetuximab-based therapy in metastatic colorectal cancer: interaction of EGFR ligand expression with RAS/RAF, PIK3CA genotypes.

Background: More than half of patients with KRAS-wild type advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) fail anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies. We studied EGFR-axis messenger RNA (mRNA) expression and RAS, RAF, PIK3CA mutations in order to identify additional biomarkers of cetuximab efficacy.

Methods: Previously genotyped (KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA mutations) formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumour biopsies of 226 cetuximab-treated CRC patients (1st to 3rd line therapy) were assessed for mRNA expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its ligands EGF, Transofrming Growth Factor-a (TGFA), Amphiregulin (AREG) and Epiregulin (EREG) with real time quantitative PCR.

B-cell depletion therapy in patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis associates with a significant decrease in PDGFR expression and activation in spindle-like cells in the skin.

Introduction: Recently, several studies assessing the clinical efficacy of rituximab (RTX) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) have reported encouraging results. We aimed at exploring whether RTX exerts its beneficial effects on fibrosis through attenuation of platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) pathway activation.

Methods: We immunohistochemically assessed skin biopsies obtained from eight patients with SSc prior to and 6 months following RTX treatment, three control SSc patients (at the same time points) and three healthy subjects.

Effect of long-term treatment with rituximab on pulmonary function and skin fibrosis in patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis.

Objectives: To assess the safety and efficacy of long-term treatment with rituximab (RTX) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: Eight patients with SSc-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) received 4 cycles of RTX and had a follow-up of 2 years. Lung involvement was assessed by pulmonary function tests and chest HRCT.

Stimulation of oval cell and hepatocyte proliferation by exogenous bombesin and neurotensin in partially hepatectomized rats.

Aim: To investigate the effect of the neuropeptides bombesin (BBS) and neurotensin (NT) on oval cell proliferation in partially hepatectomized rats not pretreated with a known hepatocyte inhibitor.

Methods: Seventy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: I = controls, II = sham operated, III = partial hepatectomy 70% (PHx), IV = PHx + BBS (30 μg/kg per day), V = PHx + NT (300 μg/kg per day). Forty eight hours after liver resection, portal endotoxin levels and hepatic glutathione redox state were determined.

Abnormal liver function tests in a patient with myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Myotonic dystrophy type 1, also known as Steinert's disease, is a multisystemic disorder with significant genetic and clinical heterogeneity. Apart from skeletal muscles' myotonia and wasting, a variety of system organs can be affected. We report on a 49 years old female patient with unremarkable medical and family history, who presented with elevated liver enzymes without signs or symptoms of chronic liver disease neither neurological features.

Altered expression of NFY-C and RORA in colorectal adenocarcinomas.

NFY-C, a subunit of the transcription factor NFY, binds to the promoters of several eukaryotic genes, including cell cycle-related genes. RORA is a steroid hormone receptor implicated in a range of important cellular processes. We evaluated the expression of NFY-C and RORA in colorectal adenocarcinomas and normal colonic tissue.

Altered intestinal tight junctions' expression in patients with liver cirrhosis: a pathogenetic mechanism of intestinal hyperpermeability.

Background: Increased intestinal permeability in cirrhosis exerts a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and other complications of cirrhosis through promotion of systemic endotoxemia. This study was designed to investigate whether the expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins, which regulate gut paracellular permeability, is altered in the intestinal mucosa of patients with liver cirrhosis and study its potential association with the stage of liver disease and the development of systemic endotoxemia.

Design: Twenty-four patients with cirrhosis at a decompensated (n = 12, group A) or compensated condition (n = 12, group B) and 12 healthy controls (group C) were subjected to duodenal biopsy.

Evaluation of zotarolimus-eluting metal stent in animal ureters.

Background And Purpose: Drug-eluting stents proved to minimize neointimal hyperplasia in coronary vessels. Hyperplastic reaction is the most common unwelcome event related to the use of metal mesh stents in the ureter. We evaluated the effect of zotarolimus-eluting stent (ZES) Endeavor Resolute in the porcine and rabbit ureter.

T-lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood and liver tissue of patients with chronic hepatitis B and C.

Aim: To evaluate the immune response in peripheral blood and liver tissue, through the measurement of T-cell subsets, in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and C (CHC).

Patients And Methods: Thirty-four patients with CHB (21 with active HBV infection and 13 inactive HBV carriers) and 20 patients with CHC were included in the study. We also evaluated 21 biopsies from patients with active CHB infection and 20 patients with CHC.

Lapatinib-induced hepatitis: a case report.

Lapatinib is an inhibitor of the tyrosine kinases of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) and epidermal growth factor receptor type 1, with clinical activity in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. We present here a 60 year-old patient with metastatic breast cancer who presented with jaundice and increased serum aminotransferase levels and who had been treated with lapatinib for the previous 14 days. Laboratory tests excluded other causes of acute liver injury.

Supernumerary umbilical vein in a hydropic neonate with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The anomalies of the umbilical vessels are uncommon, with the exception of a single umbilical artery. We report a term female infant with fetal hydrops, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and a four-vessel umbilical cord consisting of two umbilical arteries and two umbilical veins. The presence of two veins in the umbilical cord has been attributed to persistence of both the normal left umbilical vein and the caudal part of the right umbilical vein.