Eva‐Maria Wolber, Rainer Ganschow, Martin Burdelski, Wolfgang Jelkmann – 30 December 2003 – The liver is the main production site of the hormone thrombopoietin (TPO), the major regulator of megakaryopoiesis. To investigate the role of an impaired TPO gene expression in the pathogenesis of thrombocytopenia in pediatric patients suffering from liver failure, we measured hepatic TPO mRNA in children with acute or chronic end‐stage liver disease undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation.

Nathalie Dray‐Charier, Annick Paul, Jean‐Yves Scoazec, Danielle Veissière, Martine Mergey, Jacqueline Capeau, Olivier Soubrane, Chantal Housset – 30 December 2003 – Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), the cystic fibrosis (CF) gene product, functions as an adenosine 3′,5′‐cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)‐regulated chloride channel in the apical membrane of biliary epithelial cells, including gallbladder epithelial cells. It has been shown that ▵F508, the most common CF mutation, impedes CFTR trafficking to the apical surface of epithelial cells.

Noriyoshi Kusano, Kei Shiraishi, Keiko Kubo, Atsunori Oga, Kiwamu Okita, Kohsuke Sasaki – 30 December 2003 – To elucidate cytogenetic alterations underlying human hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), we used a comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) method to analyze 41 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) including 15 well differentiated HCCs, 14 moderately differentiated HCCs, and 12 poorly differentiated HCCs. Of these, 27 patients were chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and the remaining patients were positive for hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Thera A. Vos, Jenny E. Ros, Rick Havinga, Han Moshage, Folkert Kuipers, Peter L. Jansen, Michael Müller – 30 December 2003 – We investigated the expression of hepatic transport systems involved in bile secretion during liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PH) in rats. Initial studies showed maximal BrdU incorporation 24 hours after PH. Therefore, transporter expression and bile secretion were analyzed in detail at this time. The mRNA levels of the multidrug resistance genes mdr1a andmrp1 slightly increased, whereas mdr1b mRNA levels showed an extensive increase after PH.

Vicente Carreño, Patrick Marcellin, Stephanos Hadziyannis, Javier Salmerón, Moisés Diago, Geoge E. Kitis, Irene Vafiadis, Solko W. Schalm, Friederike Zahm, Félix Manzarbeitia, F. Javier Jiménez, Juan Antonio Quiroga – 30 December 2003 – Fifty‐seven patients with chronic hepatitis B, hepatitis B virus (HBV) e antigen (HBeAg) and HBV DNA positivity, and aminotransferase elevation despite a previous course of any type of adequate interferon alfa (IFN‐α) therapy were included in a multicenter prospective randomized controlled trial.

Raymundo Paraná, Ludmila Vitvitski, Zilton Andrade, Christian Trepo, Helma Cotrim, Pascale Bertillon, Fernanda Silva, Luciana Silva, Irismar R. de Oliveira, Luis Lyra – 30 December 2003 – In a 4‐year follow‐up study, patients with acute sporadic non‐A, non‐B (NANB) hepatitis were evaluated to determine the etiology and natural history of the disease. Acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) was detected in 13 of 43 (30%) of patients, anti–hepatitis E virus (HEV) IgG in 5 (12%), and 25 (58%) were considered non–A‐E. The HCV RNA was detected in all HCV patients but none of the non–A‐E cases.

Hirohito Tsubouchi – 30 December 2003

Rene Davila, Emmet B. Keeffe – 30 December 2003

C.‐Thomas Bock, Hans L. Tillmann, Michael P. Manns, Christian Trautwein – 30 December 2003 – The functional role of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) pre‐S region for assembly and appearance of the virus is not completely understood. In this study, 3 natural‐occurring mutants were investigated. Three mutants of the pre‐S region—a point mutation in the CCAAT box (MUT1), a 6‐bp deletion (MUT2) 3′ of the CCAAT box, and a 153‐bp deletion (MUT3) in the preS2 domain—were cloned alone or in combinations in replication‐competent HBV plasmids and transfected in hepatoma cells.

Catherine J. Edwards‐Smith, Julie R. Jonsson, David M. Purdie, Amolak Bansal, Claudia Shorthouse, Elizabeth E. Powell – 30 December 2003 – Serum levels of interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) are elevated in a proportion of patients with untreated chronic hepatitis C, and this may compromise the host immune response to the virus. The capacity for IL‐10 production varies according to the genetic composition of the IL‐10 locus.