Xiao‐Ming Yin – 20 September 2005 – CD95 ligand (CD95L) triggers a rapid formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as an upstream event of CD95 activation and apoptosis induction in rat hepatocytes. This ROS response was sensitive to inhibition by diphenyleneiodonium, apocynin, and neopterin, suggestive of an involvement of NADPH oxidases. In line with this, hepatocytes expressed mRNAs not only of the phagocyte gp91phox (Nox 2), but also of the homologs Nox 1 and 4 and Duox 1 and 2, as well as the regulatory subunit p47phox.

Sara Montagnese, Harriet M. Gordon, Clive Jackson, Justine Smith, Patrizia Tognella, Nutan Jethwa, R. Michael Sherratt, Marsha Y. Morgan – 20 September 2005 – Smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEM) are the conjugate movements used to track the smooth trajectory of small dots. Jerky or ‘saccadic’ ocular pursuit has been reported in patients with cirrhosis, but no formal assessment of SPEM has ever been undertaken. The aim of this study was to evaluate SPEM in patients with cirrhosis and varying degrees of hepatic encephalopathy.

Sándor Paku, Katalin Dezső, László Kopper, Peter Nagy – 20 September 2005 – Cytokeratins are the largest subfamily of intermediate filament proteins and include more than 20 different gene products, which are expressed in an epithelial tissue‐specific manner. We studied by immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy the distribution of cytokeratin subtypes in the biliary system of adult rat liver. A cytokeratin (CK)19+/7− cholangiocyte population was observed in the smaller branches of the biliary tree including the canals of Hering.

Suk Woo Nam, Jik Young Park, Adaikalavan Ramasamy, Shirish Shevade, Amirul Islam, Philip M. Long, Cheol Keun Park, Soo Eun Park, Su Young Kim, Sug Hyung Lee, Won Sang Park, Nam Jin Yoo, Edison T. Liu, Lance D. Miller, Jung Young Lee – 20 September 2005 – Progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a stepwise process that proceeds from pre‐neoplastic lesions—including low‐grade dysplastic nodules (LGDNs) and high‐grade dysplastic nodules (HGDNs)—to advanced HCC.

Naoya Kato, Guijin Ji, Yue Wang, Masanori Baba, Yujin Hoshida, Motoyuki Otsuka, Hiroyoshi Taniguchi, Masaru Moriyama, Narayan Dharel, Tadashi Goto, Run‐Xuan Shao, Tadashi Matsuura, Keisuke Ishii, Shuichiro Shiina, Takao Kawabe, Masaaki Muramatsu, Masao Omata – 20 September 2005 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major risk factor for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The host genetic factors that are involved in the development of HCC in patients with HCV infection remain to be investigated.

Andrew P. Feranchak, Jane Gralla, Robert King, Rebecca O. Ramirez, Mary Corkill, Michael R. Narkewicz, Ronald J. Sokol – 20 September 2005 – Malabsorption of fat‐soluble vitamins is a major complication of chronic cholestatic liver disease. The most accurate way to assess vitamin A status in children who have cholestasis is unknown. The goal of this study was to assess the accuracy of noninvasive tests to detect vitamin A deficiency. Children with chronic cholestatic liver disease (n = 23) and noncholestatic liver disease (n = 10) were studied.

Qing‐gao Deng, Hongyun She, Jason H. Cheng, Samuel W. French, Dennis R. Koop, Shigang Xiong, Hidekazu Tsukamoto – 20 September 2005 – Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is prevalent among obese individuals with excessive caloric intake, insulin resistance, and type II diabetes. However, no animal models exist that recapitulate this important association. This study produced and characterized steatohepatitis (SH) caused by intragastric overfeeding in mice.

J. Donald Ostrow, Claudio Tiribelli – 20 September 2005

Alan S. Perelson, Eva Herrmann, Florence Micol, Stefan Zeuzem – 20 September 2005 – Viral kinetic modeling has played an important role in the analysis of HCV RNA decay after the initiation of antiviral therapy. Models have provided a means of evaluating the antiviral effectiveness of therapy, of estimating parameters such as the rate of virion clearance and the rate of clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV)–infected cells, and they have suggested mechanisms of action for both interferon and ribavirin.

Jay H. Hoofnagle – 20 September 2005