M. D. Stegall, G. T. Everson, G. Schroter, F. Karrer, B. Bilir, T. Sternberg, R. Shrestha, M. Wachs, I. Kam – 30 December 2003 – We prospectively withdrew prednisone in 28 adult patients who had stable graft function more than 2 years after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTx) and had been on 5 mg/d prednisone for at least 6 months. Prednisone was decreased from 5 mg/d to 2.5 mg/d for 1 month then stopped completely. Cyclosporine monotherapy was maintained at a level of approximately 200 ng/mL (TDX). Nineteen patients had prednisone withdrawn without complications.

C D Gove, R D Hughes, R J Ede, R Williams – 30 December 2003 – The pathogenesis of cerebral edema, which is a major complication of fulminant hepatic failure, is poorly understood. In previous studies, increased regional brain water content was observed in rats at an early stage of acute liver failure caused by galactosamine. At a later stage when the animals had developed deep coma, brain water content was reduced, possibly as a result of generalized dehydration.

J L Rosa, J X Pérez, M Detheux, E Van Schaftingen, R Bartrons – 30 December 2003 – The activity and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of glucokinase, and the concentration and mRNA levels of its regulatory protein, were analyzed during liver regeneration. The activity of glucokinase and the concentration of its regulatory protein decreased to 30% and 50%, respectively, after liver resection, remaining low after 1 week. No significant variations in the level of these proteins were found in sham‐operated animals.

O Yasui, N Miura, K Terada, Y Kawarada, K Koyama, T Sugiyama – 30 December 2003 – Oval cells function as compensatory cells in severe liver injury and are thought to be equivalent to liver stem/progenitor cells. We isolated oval cells from the liver of Long‐Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats by isopyknic centrifugation in a Percoll gradient. The cells were gamma‐glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP)‐positive, alpha‐fetoprotein‐positive, and cytokeratin (CK) 18‐ and CK 19‐positive, but albumin‐negative in the cells. When oval cells were transplanted to the liver, they were transformed into hepatocytes.

W A Marsman, R H Wiesner, K P Batts, J J Poterucha, M K Porayko, H G Niesters, P E Zondervan, R A Krom – 30 December 2003 – Liver transplantation for hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐related liver disease is complicated by HBV recurrence and, consequently, poor patient and graft survival. Patients transplanted for hepatitis delta virus (HDV)‐ related cirrhosis are reported to have a diminished incidence of HBV recurrence and improved graft survival. However, only a few reported HDV‐infected patients had active HBV replicative disease before liver transplantation.

O Bruña‐Romero, J J Lasarte, G Wilkinson, K Grace, B Clarke, F Borrás‐Cuesta, J Prieto – 30 December 2003 – A replication‐defective recombinant adenovirus (RAd), RAdCMV‐CE1, containing core and E1 genes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was constructed. RAdCMV‐CE1 was able to express core and E1 proteins both in mice and human cells. Immunization of BALB/c mice with RAdCMV‐CE1 induced a specific cytotoxic T‐cell response against the two HCV proteins.

30 December 2003

H L Bonkovsky, B F Banner, A L Rothman – 30 December 2003

N Zhang, K Siegel, M Odenthal, R Becker, F Oesch, H P Dienes, P Schirmacher, P Steinberg – 30 December 2003 – Oval cells are small nonparenchymal epithelial cells that first appear in the periportal areas of the liver and thereafter invade the whole parenchyma when mice or rats are exposed to a variety of chemical carcinogens.

F J Laso, J I Madruga, J A Giron, A Lopez, J Ciudad, J F San Miguel, M Alvarez‐Mon, A Orfao – 30 December 2003 – Chronic alcohol intake is associated with an increased incidence of certain neoplasms. Natural killer (NK) cells have been considered to be involved in control tumor development and growth. The goal of the present study was to contribute to a better understanding of the effects of ethanol (EtOH) per se on the NK‐cell population.