Harald F. Teutsch – 17 June 2005 – The morphological homogeneity of the liver parenchyma has represented a major obstacle in finding an acceptable definition of the structural/functional units of the liver. Concepts such as the “lobule,” the “portal unit” and the “acinus” remain debatable. This study investigates the modular microarchitecture on the basis of the lobular concept. Using alkaline phosphatase activity as a histochemical marker, modules could be recognized clearly.

Sabine Stahl, Carina Ittrich, Philip Marx‐Stoelting, Christoph Köhle, Özge Altug‐Teber, Olaf Riess, Michael Bonin, Jürgen Jobst, Stephan Kaiser, Albrecht Buchmann, Michael Schwarz – 17 June 2005 – Experimentally induced liver tumors in mice harbor activating mutations in either Catnb (β‐catenin) or Ha‐ras, according to the carcinogenic treatment. We have now investigated by microarray analysis the gene expression profiles in tumors of the two genotypes.

Vassiliki‐Anastasia Sypsa, Konstantinos Mimidis, Nicholas C. Tassopoulos, Dimitrios Chrysagis, Themistoklis Vassiliadis, Antonios Moulakakis, Maria Raptopoulou, Caterina Haida, Angelos Hatzakis – 16 June 2005 – We studied viral dynamic parameters in 44 chronic hepatitis B/hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)(−) patients treated with pegylated interferon alfa‐2b (PEG‐IFN) 100 or 200 μg weekly or lamivudine 100 mg daily or the combination of PEG‐IFN 100 or 200 μg with lamivudine.

Yuichi Nagakawa, George Melville Williams, Qizhi Zheng, Akihiko Tsuchida, Tatsuya Aoki, Robert A. Montgomery, Andrew S. Klein, Zhaoli Sun – 16 June 2005 – An orthotopic liver transplant model in the rat was used to evaluate the role of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) in liver transplant rejection. There were significantly increased levels of TNF‐α mRNA and parallel increases in 8‐hydroxy‐2′ deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG) indicative of oxidative DNA damage present 7 to 12 days after transplantation.

Elizabeth E. Powell, Julie R. Jonsson, Andrew D. Clouston – 16 June 2005 – The prevalence of fatty liver is rising in association with the global increase in obesity and type 2 diabetes. In the past, simple steatosis was regarded as benign, but the presence of another liver disease may provide a synergistic combination of steatosis, cellular adaptation, and oxidative damage that aggravates liver injury.

Thomas F. Baumert, Josef Köck, Hubert E. Blum – 16 June 2005

Thomas D. Boyer – 16 June 2005

Jarmila D. W. van der Bilt, Onno Kranenburg, Maarten W. Nijkamp, Niels Smakman, Liesbeth M. Veenendaal, Elisabeth A. te Velde, Emile E. Voest, Paul J. van Diest, Inne H. M. Borel Rinkes – 16 June 2005 – Mortality in colorectal cancer is associated with the development of liver metastases. Surgical removal of these tumors is the only hope for cure, but recurrence is common. During liver surgery, ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) often occurs as a result of hemorrhage or vascular clamping.

Michael A. Heneghan, Ian G. McFarlane – 16 June 2005

Alex B. Lentsch – 16 June 2005 – The inhibitor of NF‐κB (I‐κB) kinase (IKK) complex consists of 3 subunits, IKK1, IKK2, and NF‐κB essential modulator (NEMO), and is involved in the activation of NF‐κB by various stimuli. IKK2 or NEMO constitutive knockout mice die during embryogenesis as a result of massive hepatic apoptosis. Therefore, we examined the role of IKK2 in TNF‐induced apoptosis and ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in the liver by using conditional knockout mice.