Yaron Ilan, Bernhard Sauter, Namita Roy Chowdhury, Bhoompally V. Reddy, Narsing R. Thummala, Gustavo Droguett, Anne Davidson, Michael Ott, Marshall S. Horwitz, Jayanta Roy Chowdhury – 30 December 2003 – Exposure to wild‐type adenoviruses is common in humans and results in immune response against adenoviruses. The pre‐existing antibodies and a strong secondary humoral and cellular immune response would interfere with gene transfer using recombinant adenoviral vectors.

Hiroshi Mitsui, Toshiyuki Maruyama, Satoshi Kimura, Yoh Takuwa – 30 December 2003 – Recently identified c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase are activated by stimuli of various cellular stresses, cytokines, and growth factors. Strong activation of JNK was reported in the regenerating liver, implicating JNK in growth stimulation of hepatocytes. However, it is not known which factors regulate JNK activity in liver cells.

Tsutomu Masaki, Masato Okada, Yasushi Shiratori, William Rengifo, Kozou Matsumoto, Shinn Maeda, Naoya Kato, Fumihiko Kanai, Yutaka Komatsu, Mikio Nishioka, Masao Omata – 30 December 2003 – For the related Src kinases, a close correlation exists between elevated tyrosine kinase activity and cell transformation. However, the involvement of pp60c‐src in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains obscure. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether pp60c‐src tyrosine kinase activity is elevated in HCC.

Miren J. Anasagasti, Javier J. Martin, Lorea Mendoza, Elena Obrador, Jose M. Estrela, Robert S. McCuskey, Fernando Vidal‐Vanaclocha – 30 December 2003 – Calcein‐labeled B16 melanoma (B16M) cells were injected intraportally, and in vivo video microscopy was used to study the distribution and damage of cancer cells arrested in the liver microvasculature over a period of 4 hours.

Veit Gülberg, Ingrid Liβ, Alexander L. Gerbes – 30 December 2003

Vicente Arroyo – 30 December 2003

Kang H. Lee, Kai‐Chah Tan – 30 December 2003

Yasuhiko Sugawara, Masatoshi Makuuchi, Junichi Kaneko, Yoji Kishi, Shojiro Hata, Norihiro Kokudo – 30 December 2003 – The influence of lymphocytotoxic cross‐match on survival or acute rejection in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has not been well examined. We analyzed 133 consecutive adult LDLT cases and assessed patient survival and acute rejection rates. Patients with a positive T lymphocytotoxic cross‐match (n = 12) had a significantly higher chance of rejection within 6 weeks of LDLT (67% versus 28%, P < .001).

Daniel Palmes, Tymotheus B. Budny, Udo Stratmann, Hermann Herbst, Hans‐Ullrich Spiegel – 30 December 2003 – Endothelin‐1 can induce microcirculatory disorders by mediating sinusoidal vasoconstriction, lowering the perfusion rate and promoting leukocyte adhesion, all of which may play a role in the pathogenesis of the damage sustained by partial liver transplants. In this pilot study, we investigated a selective endothelin‐A receptor antagonist (Darusentan; Knoll GmbH, Ludwigshafen, Germany) for its potential influence on the microcirculation in the setting of partial liver transplantation.

Andrew S. Klein, Ernesto P. Molmenti – 30 December 2003 – Shunting and transplantation are satisfactory methods of treating Budd‐Chiari syndrome (BCS). Selection of treatment is based on the degree of hepatic injury (clinical settings), liver biopsy results, potential for parenchymal recovery, and pressure measurements. Shunting is recommended in cases of preserved hepatic function and architecture.