Konrad L. Streetz, Frank Tacke, Ludger Leifeld, Torsten Wüstefeld, Andrea Graw, Christian Klein, Kenjii Kamino, Ulrich Spengler, Hans Kreipe, Stefan Kubicka, Werner Müller, Michael P. Manns, Christian Trautwein – 30 December 2003 – The contribution of the acute phase inducer interleukin 6 (IL‐6) in the pathogenesis of liver diseases is yet unclear. Our analysis showed enhanced expression of IL‐6 in livers derived from patients with acute and chronic liver diseases.

Jay H. Hoofnagle, Marc G. Ghany, David E. Kleiner, Edward Doo, Theo Heller, Kittichai Promrat, Janus Ong, Farooq Khokhar, Alejandro Soza, David Herion, Yoon Park, James E. Everhart, T.

Daniel Rost, Thomas Herrmann, Peter Sauer, Hans‐Ludwig Schmidts, Bruno Stieger, Peter J. Meier, Wolfgang Stremmel, Adolf Stiehl – 30 December 2003 – Hepatic uptake of organic anions, including bile salts, is mediated by members of the organic anion‐transporting polypeptide (Oatp) family. In rat liver, Oatp1 (Slc21a1), Oatp2 (Slc21a5), and Oatp4 (Slca10) are expressed at the basolateral membrane of hepatocytes and may be differentially regulated under pathophysiologic conditions such as cholestasis.

Harald Hofer, Peter Ferenci – 30 December 2003

Keyur Patel, Andrew J. Muir, John G. McHutchison – 30 December 2003

José Castellote, Carmen López, Joan Gornals, Gemma Tremosa, Eva Rodríguez Fariña, Carmen Baliellas, Alicia Domingo, Xavier Xiol – 30 December 2003 – We studied the use of reagent strips for diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in cirrhotic patients with ascites. A reagent strip for leukocyte esterase designed for the testing of urine with a colorimetric 5‐grade scale (0 to 4) was used to evaluate ascitic fluid in 228 nonselected paracentesis performed in 128 cirrhotic patients.

Byung‐Min Choi, Hyun‐ock Pae, Young‐Myeong Kim, Hun‐Taeg Chung – 30 December 2003 – Heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) is the rate‐limiting enzyme in heme catabolism, which leads to the generation of carbon monoxide (CO), biliverdin, and free iron. One of 3 mammalian HO isoforms, HO‐1, is a stress‐responsive protein and known to modulate such cellular functions as cytokine production, cell proliferation, and apoptosis to protect organs and tissues from acute injury.

Josep M. Llovet, Jordi Bruix – 30 December 2003 – There is no standard treatment for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Survival benefits derived from medical interventions are controversial. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the evidence of the impact of medical treatments on survival. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were published as full papers assessing survival for primary treatments of HCC were included. MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, CANCERLIT, and a manual search from 1978 to May 2002 were used.

Wen‐Chau Wu, Hsiao‐Wen Chung, Hsiao‐Jen Chung – 30 December 2003

Makoto Chuma, Michiie Sakamoto, Ken Yamazaki, Tsutomu Ohta, Misao Ohki, Masahiro Asaka, Setsuo Hirohashi – 30 December 2003 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with chronic liver disease evolves from precancerous lesions and early HCC to a progressed form. Nodule‐in‐nodule–type HCC (progressed HCC within early HCC) represents the transition from early to progressed HCC and, therefore, is useful in molecular genetic analysis of HCC progression during multistage carcinogenesis.