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.

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.

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.

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.

Marc G. Ghany, Edward Doo – 20 September 2005

Christophe Moreno, Thierry Gustot, Charles Nicaise, Eric Quertinmont, Nathalie Nagy, Marc Parmentier, Olivier Le Moine, Jacques Devière, Hubert Louis – 20 September 2005 – Experimental T‐cell–mediated hepatitis induced by concanavalin A (Con A) involves the production of different cytokines and chemokines and is characterized by leukocyte infiltration. Because the chemokine receptor CCR5 and its ligands (CCL3, CCL4, and CCL5) regulate leukocyte chemotaxis and activation, we investigated the role of CCR5 during Con A–induced liver injury.

Guqi Wang, Yuewen Gong, Judy Anderson, Dongfeng Sun, Gerald Minuk, Michael S. Roberts, Frank J. Burczynski – 20 September 2005 – Liver fatty acid binding protein (L‐FABP) contains amino acids that are known to possess antioxidant function. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that L‐FABP may serve as an effective endogenous cytoprotectant against oxidative stress. Chang liver cells were selected as the experimental model because of their undetectable L‐FABP mRNA level. Full‐length L‐FABP cDNA was subcloned into the mammalian expression vector pcDNA3.1 (pcDNA‐FABP).

Giovanni Targher – 20 September 2005

Susana Solá, Joana D. Amaral, Rui E. Castro, Rita M. Ramalho, Pedro M. Borralho, Betsy T. Kren, Hirotoshi Tanaka, Cifford J. Steer, Cecília M. P. Rodrigues – 20 September 2005 – Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) inhibits classical mitochondrial pathways of apoptosis by either directly stabilizing mitochondrial membranes or modulating specific upstream targets. Furthermore, UDCA regulates apoptosis‐related genes from transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1)–induced hepatocyte apoptosis by a nuclear steroid receptor (NSR)–dependent mechanism.

Helen H. Wang, David Q.‐H. Wang – 20 September 2005 – It has been found that polymorphisms in the apolipoprotein (APO)‐B gene are associated with cholesterol gallstones in humans. We hypothesized that APO‐B plays a major regulatory role in the response of biliary cholesterol secretion to high dietary cholesterol and contributes to cholesterol gallstone formation.