Alessandro Aiuti, Carla Cicchini, Silvia Bernardini, Giorgio Fedele, Laura Amicone, Antonio Fantoni, Marco Tripodi – 30 December 2003 – It was recently reported that transgenic expression in the liver of truncated human Met renders hepatocytes constitutively resistant to apoptosis and reproducibly permits their immortalization. The derived stable cell lines (MMH from Met murine hepatocyte) are highly differentiated and nontransformed. In this report, the capacity of MMHs to support in vitro hematopoiesis is characterized.

Roland M. Reinehr, Ralf Kubitz, Thorsten Peters‐Regehr, Johannes G. Bode, Dieter Häussinger – 30 December 2003 – The effect of endothelin (ET) 1 on intracellular Ca2+ transients in cultured rat hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) during transformation was studied by use of single‐cell fluorescence. Regardless of the duration of HSC culture, ET‐1 caused a BQ‐123–sensitive but IRL‐1038–insensitive elevation of [Ca2+]i, indicating the involvement of ETA but not ETB receptors.

Naoki Hori, Reiner Wiest, Roberto J. Groszmann – 30 December 2003 – Increased nitric oxide (NO) release has been implicated in the pathogenesis of the hyperdynamic circulation in portal hypertension. NOS 3 (eNOS) causes NO release from the endothelium in response to physical stimuli, such as increased blood flow and shear stress. We evaluated the functional activity of the endothelium in the superior mesenteric arterial bed of portal hypertensive rats through direct measurement of NO metabolites (NOx) during changes in flow and shear stress.

Fabio Farinati, Michela Rinaldi, Simona Gianni, Giuseppe Marin – 30 December 2003

Markus Peck‐Radosavljevic, Martina Wichlas, Johann Pidlich, Paul Sims, Gloria Meng, Johannes Zacherl, Shaily Garg, Christian Datz, Alfred Gangl, Peter Ferenci – 30 December 2003 – Thrombocytopenia is common in advanced‐stage liver disease and is partly caused by inadequate thrombopoietin (TPO) production in the failing liver. Treatment of chronic hepatitis C with interferon alfa (IFN‐α) often induces thrombocytopenia, sometimes even leading to discontinuation of treatment.

Sharon C. Presnell, Michelle J. Hooth, Kristen M. Borchert, William B. Coleman, Joe W. Grisham, Gary J. Smith – 30 December 2003 – A model of spontaneous malignant transformation was used to evaluate the molecular changes that take place in WB‐F344 rat liver epithelial cells during neoplastic transformation and tumorigenesis. A comparison of wild‐type low‐passage WB‐F344 cells to spontaneously transformed tumor cell lines revealed that the majority of the tumor cell lines have an increased capacity for autonomous proliferation and motility when maintained in serum‐free media.

Kaushik Choudhuri, Germana V. Gregorio, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Diego Vergani – 30 December 2003 – We describe two patients with liver kidney microsomal antibody type 1 (LKM1)‐positive autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) with associated endocrinopathies. The first patient had insulin‐dependent diabetes (IDDM), and the second patient had Addison's disease and hypoparathyroidism, and is also positive for islet cell antibodies, without overt diabetes.

Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, Robert L. CARITHERS, Gregory J. Gores – 30 December 2003

Ian D. Norton, James C. Andrews, Patrick S. Kamath – 30 December 2003

William E. Delaney, Harriet C. Isom – 30 December 2003 – A novel transient mechanism for studying hepatitis B virus (HBV) gene expression and replication using recombinant HBV baculovirus to deliver the HBV genome to HepG2 cells was generated. In HBV baculovirus infected HepG2 cells, HBV transcripts, and intracellular and secreted HBV antigens are produced; replication occurs as evidenced by the presence of high levels of intracellular replicative intermediates and protected HBV DNA in the medium.