M Sakamoto, T Ueno, H Sugawara, T Torimura, R Tsuji, K Sujaku, M Sata, K Tanikawa – 30 December 2003 – Interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) is closely involved in liver disorders. IL‐1β produces nitric oxide (NO) in vascular smooth muscle cells and relaxes vascular smooth muscle via cyclic guanosine 3′,5′‐monophosphate (cGMP). In this study, we evaluated the relaxing effect of IL‐1β on cultured Ito cells. Ito cells were isolated from the livers of male Wistar rats and cultured for 24 hours.

M Casado, M Velasco, L Bosca, P Martin‐Sanz – 30 December 2003 – Treatment of rats at 21 days' gestation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced type II NO synthase (iNOS) expression in maternal liver but completely failed to elicit this response in the corresponding fetal tissue. The impaired response of fetal liver cannot be attributed to alterations in the sensitivity of this organ to LPS or to proinflammatory cytokines involved in iNOS expression (tumor necrosis factor α [TNF‐α], interferon gamma [IFN‐γ]), because cultured fetal and adult hepatocytes similarly responded to these factors.

F Casafont, E Sanchez, L Martin, J Aguero, F P Romero – 30 December 2003 – Bacterial translocation (BT) has been involved in the pathogenesis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in experimental cirrhosis. Because malnutrition is a common feature in cirrhosis, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of nutrition on BT and SBP. We induced cirrhosis in 44 Sprague‐Dawley rats by administration of oral CCl4, and, afterward, 26 animals were maintained with dietary restriction. Cultures of mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), peripheral and portal blood, liver, and spleen were performed.

M Pakarinen, T A Miettinen, P Kuusanmaki, P Vento, T Kivisto, J Halttunen – 30 December 2003 – Our major aim was to investigate the consequences of ileal autotransplantation in pigs with proximal small intestinal resection on biliary lipids and metabolism of bile acids. Biliary lipid secretion rates and bile acid absorption were assessed by measuring dietary and biliary lipids, fractional cholesterol absorption, and fecal excretion of cholesterol and bile acids.

B Le Guen, G Squadrito, B Nalpas, P Berthelot, S Pol, C Brechot – 30 December 2003 – Recent studies performed in Japan have suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome heterogeneity might be taken as a predictive virological parameter of response to interferon alfa (IFN‐α) treatment. However, there is presently no information on the impact of this virological parameter in patients from Western countries infected by different HCV genotypes.

K Kobayashi, M Horiuchi, T Saheki – 30 December 2003 – Adult‐onset type II citrullinemia is characterized by which deficiency of argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS) protein is found specifically in the liver of patients. Our recent study using differential messenger RNA (mRNA) display showed that the expression of human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (hPSTI) mRNA increases significantly in the liver of all type II patients tested. In the present work, we found that the concentration of hPSTI protein was higher in the liver of type II patients than controls.

A Nishio, J Van de Water, P S Leung, R Joplin, J M Neuberger, J Lake, A Bjorkland, T H Totterman, M Peters, H J Worman, A A Ansari, R L Coppel, M E Gershwin – 30 December 2003 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune liver disease characterized by destruction of intrahepatic bile ducts. Although the pathogenesis of this disease is still unknown, high titers of antimitochondrial autoantibodies (AMA) have long been recognized in patient sera. However, little is known about the presence of AMA in bile.

Jeffrey S. Crippin – 30 December 2003 – Key Points 1Bone disease is a common problem in patients with chronic liver disease and liver transplants.2The cause of bone disease in these patients is multifactorial.3Bone disease worsens initially after liver transplantation, with subsequent improvement over time.

Amadeo Marcos, Mark Orloff, Luis Mieles, Ann T. Olzinski, John F. Renz, James V. Sitzmann – 30 December 2003 – Right‐lobe living donor liver transplantation has emerged as an alternative to cadaveric transplantation. An appreciation of the unique anatomy and behavior of the right lobe has emerged and has precipitated technical modifications. Living donors underwent right lobectomy, including preservation of significant inferior hepatic veins.

Jawad Ahmad, S. Forrest Dodson, A. Jake Demetris, John J. Fung, A. Obaid Shakil – 30 December 2003 – Liver transplant recipients with recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection often have histological hepatitis, and in some patients, graft failure develops. The aim of this nonrandomized study is to determine the efficacy and tolerability of interferon alfa (IFN alfa) alone and IFN alfa and ribavirin combination therapy in such patients.