Activity of stabilized short interfering RNA in a mouse model of hepatitis B virus replication

David V. Morrissey, Karin Blanchard, Lucinda Shaw, Kristi Jensen, Jennifer A. Lockridge, Brent Dickinson, James A. McSwiggen, Chandra Vargeese, Keith Bowman, Chris S. Shaffer, Barry A. Polisky, Shawn Zinnen – 23 May 2005 – To develop synthetic short interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules as therapeutic agents for systemic administration in vivo, chemical modifications were introduced into siRNAs targeted to conserved sites in hepatitis B virus (HBV) RNA. These modifications conferred significantly prolonged stability in human serum compared with unmodified siRNAs.

Prevalence of and risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: The Dionysos nutrition and liver study

Giorgio Bedogni, Lucia Miglioli, Flora Masutti, Claudio Tiribelli, Giulio Marchesini, Stefano Bellentani – 13 May 2005 – The prevalence of and the risk factors for fatty liver have not undergone a formal evaluation in a representative sample of the general population. We therefore performed a cross‐sectional study in the town of Campogalliano (Modena, Italy), within the context of the Dionysos Project. Of 5,780 eligible persons aged 18 to 75 years, 3,345 (58%) agreed to participate in the study.

Purification and characterization of mouse fetal liver epithelial cells with high in vivo repopulation capacity

Dirk Nierhoff, Atsushi Ogawa, Michael Oertel, Yuan‐Qing Chen, David A. Shafritz – 13 May 2005 – Epithelial cells in embryonic day (ED) 12.5 murine fetal liver were separated from hematopoietic cell populations using fluorescence‐activated cell sorting (FACS) and were characterized by immunocytochemistry using a broad set of antibodies specific for epithelial cells (α‐fetoprotein [AFP], albumin [ALB], pancytokeratin [PanCK], Liv2, E‐cadherin, Dlk), hematopoietic/endothelial cells (Ter119, CD45, CD31), and stem/progenitor cells (c‐Kit, CD34, Sca‐1).

Daily cannabis smoking as a risk factor for progression of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C

Christophe Hézode, Françoise Roudot‐Thoraval, Son Nguyen, Pascale Grenard, Boris Julien, Elie‐Serge Zafrani, Jean‐Michel Pawlostky, Daniel Dhumeaux, Sophie Lotersztajn, Ariane Mallat – 12 May 2005 – Cannabinoids present in Cannabis sativa (marijuana) exert biological effects via cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. We recently demonstrated that CB1 and CB2 receptors regulate progression of experimental liver fibrosis. We therefore investigated the impact of cannabis smoking on fibrosis progression rate in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC).

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