Chun‐Yi Lu, Bor‐Luen Chiang, Wei‐Kuang Chi, Mei‐Hwei Chang, Yen‐Hsuan Ni, Hsu‐Mei Hsu, Shiing‐Jer Twu, Ih‐Jen Su, Li‐Min Huang, Chin‐Yun Lee – 24 November 2004 – Neonatal immunization with hepatitis B (HB) vaccine is highly effective; however, more needs to be learned about the duration of protection and indications for boosters. We measured antibody to HB core antigen (anti‐HBc), HB surface antigen (HBsAg), and pre‐ and postbooster titers of HBsAg antibody (anti‐HBs) 15 years after primary neonatal immunization with plasma‐derived HB vaccines in 2 cohorts of 15‐year‐old children.

Bernd Kronenberger, Eva Herrmann, Florence Micol, Michael von Wagner, Stefan Zeuzem – 24 November 2004 – The aim of the present study was to compare viral kinetics between patients with chronic hepatitis C and persistently normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and those with elevated ALT levels.

Eyal Shteyer, Yunjun Liao, Louis J. Muglia, Paul W. Hruz, David A. Rudnick – 24 November 2004 – The liver responds to injury with regulated tissue regeneration. During early regeneration, the liver accumulates fat. Neither the mechanisms responsible for nor the functional significance of this transient steatosis have been determined. In this study, we examined patterns of gene expression associated with hepatic fat accumulation in regenerating liver and tested the hypothesis that disruption of hepatic fat accumulation would be associated with impaired hepatic regeneration.

Andres T. Blei – 24 November 2004

Elwyn Elias – 24 November 2004

Paul Klenerman, Nasser Semmo, Scott Ward – 24 November 2004 – Regulatory T (T(R)) cells consist of phenotypically and functionally distinct CD4+ and CD8+ T‐cell subsets engaged both in maintaining self‐tolerance and in preventing anti–non–self effector responses (microbial, tumor, transplant, and so on) that may be harmful to the host.

Tin K. Mao, Paul A. Davis, Joseph A. Odin, Ross L. Coppel, M. Eric Gershwin – 24 November 2004 – The E2 component of mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC‐E2) is the immunodominant autoantigen of primary biliary cirrhosis. Whereas lipoylation of PDC‐E2 is essential for enzymatic activity and predominates under normal conditions, other biochemical systems exist that also target the lysine residue, including acylation of fatty acids or xenobiotics and ubiquitinylation.

Constantino Fondevila, Xiu‐Da Shen, Seiichiro Tsuchiyashi, Kenichiro Yamashita, Eva Csizmadia, Charles Lassman, Ronald W. Busuttil, Jerzy W. Kupiec‐Weglinski, Fritz H. Bach – 24 November 2004 – Heme oxygenase (HO‐1) provides a cellular defense mechanism during oxidative stress and catalyzes the rate‐limiting step in heme metabolism that produces biliverdin (BV). The role of BV and its potential use in preventing ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) had never been studied.

Kuan‐Der Lee, Tom Kwang‐Chun Kuo, Jacqueline Whang‐Peng, Yu‐Fen Chung, Ching‐Tai Lin, Shiu‐Huey Chou, Jim‐Ray Chen, Yi‐Peng Chen, Oscar Kuang‐Sheng Lee – 24 November 2004 – This study examined whether mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are stem cells originated from embryonic mesoderm, are able to differentiate into functional hepatocyte‐like cells in vitro. MSCs were isolated from human bone marrow and umbilical cord blood, and the surface phenotype and the mesodermal multilineage differentiation potentials of these cells were characterized and tested.

Geoffrey C. Farrell – 24 November 2004