James W. Mosley, Eva A. Operskalski, Leslie H. Tobler, William W. Andrews, Bruce Phelps, Janel Dockter, Cristina Giachetti, Michael P. Busch – 13 June 2005 – Since 1980, the Transfusion‐transmitted Viruses Study (TTVS) (1974–1980) has continued to maintain its computerized database and stored sera to enable ongoing study of new transfusion events since the 1970s. Most recently, we have used this resource to study parameters of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among 94 donor–recipient pairs in which there was transmission.

Luigi Bolondi, Stefano Gaiani, Natascia Celli, Rita Golfieri, Walter Francesco Grigioni, Simona Leoni, Anna Maria Venturi, Fabio Piscaglia – 13 June 2005 – In a prospective study, we examined the impact of arterial hypervascularity, as established by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) recommendations, as a criterion for characterizing small (1‐3 cm) nodules in cirrhosis. A total of 72 nodules (1‐2 cm, n = 41; 2.1‐3 cm, n = 31) detected by ultrasonography in 59 patients with cirrhosis were included in the study.

Jordan J. Feld, Huong Dinh, Tamara Arenovich, Victoria A. Marcus, Ian R. Wanless, E. Jenny Heathcote – 13 June 2005 – Although the natural history of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) has been characterized, little is known about patients who present asymptomatically. Consequently, whether they require immunosuppressive therapy with its associated complications is unclear. To compare the natural history of asymptomatic AIH with symptomatic AIH, a large cohort of patients from a single center was examined.

Jayant A. Talwalkar – 7 June 2005

Joan Clària, Vicente Arroyo – 1 June 2005

Nicole Seidel, Xandra Volkmann, Florian Länger, Peer Flemming, Michael P. Manns, Klaus Schulze‐Osthoff, Heike Bantel – 26 May 2005 – Hepatic steatosis is a frequent histological alteration in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection that sensitizes the liver to cell injury, inflammation, and fibrosis via unclear mechanisms. Although apoptosis has been implicated in various liver diseases, its importance in HCV‐associated steatosis is largely unknown.

Daniel Benten, Antonia Follenzi, Kuldeep K. Bhargava, Vinay Kumaran, Christopher J. Palestro, Sanjeev Gupta – 25 May 2005 – Targeting of cells to specific tissues is critical for cell therapy. To study endothelial cell targeting, we isolated mouse liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC) and examined cell biodistributions in animals.

Thomas Höhler, Esther Reuss, Christine M. Freitag, Peter M. Schneider – 25 May 2005 – The immune response to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is mostly genetically determined. Interleukin 10 (IL‐10) is a central immunoregulatory cytokine with important effects on B‐cells. We have studied the influence of IL‐10 promoter polymorphisms on the immune response to HBsAg and hepatitis A vaccination. We vaccinated 202 twin pairs in an open prospective study with a combined recombinant HBsAg/inactivated hepatitis A vaccine.

Katsumi Yamauchi, Naoko Yamaguchi, Takaji Furukawa, Kazuko Takatsu, Toshimi Nakanishi, Kohji Ishida, Tatsuji Komatsu, Katsutoshi Tokushige, Hikaru Nagahara, Etsuko Hashimoto, Keiko Shiratori – 25 May 2005 – We have previously reported an immunoglobulin (Ig) M autoantibody to hepatocyte‐related 190‐kd molecules in patients with type 1 autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). This molecule was first isolated by hepatocyte‐specific human monoclonal antibody (MoAb).

J. Michael Henderson – 24 May 2005