Hideki Aizaki, Yoichiro Aoki, Takashi Harada, Koji Ishii, Tetsuro Suzuki, Seishi Nagamori, Gotaro Toda, Yoshiharu Matsuura, Tatsuo Miyamura – 30 December 2003 – We constructed a full‐length complementary DNA (cDNA) clone of hepatitis C virus (HCV) from a blood sample of an HCV carrier. The blood from the carrier was eventually transfused to a patient who later developed typical posttransfusion hepatitis C. It was also shown to be infectious to chimpanzees. We obtained 12 overlapping cDNA fragments altogether, covering the entire HCV genome.

Don C. Rockey, Laura Fouassier, John J. Chung, Alain Carayon, Patrick Vallée, Colette Rey, Chantal Housset – 30 December 2003 – Endothelin (ET) peptides have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several biological processes within the liver. ET levels are elevated in the circulation of patients with cirrhosis, and recent data suggest that ET may be overproduced in the liver itself in this condition.

Agustín Albillos, Guillermo Cacho, César Barrios, Melchor Alvarez‐Mon, Irma Rossi, Juán Gómez‐Arnau, María Pérez‐Páramo, Jose Luis Calleja, Javier Muñoz, María‐Teresa Torres, Rosa Daza, Valentín Cuervas‐Mons, Pedro Escartín – 30 December 2003 – Arterial hypertension is commonly observed in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) recipients receiving cyclosporin A (CsA), but the precise pathogenetic mechanisms remain partially unknown.

Noriyoshi Kuzushita, Norio Hayashi, Toyoki Moribe, Kazuhiro Katayama, Tatsuya Kanto, Sayaka Nakatani, Toshihiko Kaneshige, Tomohide Tatsumi, Akihiko Ito, Kiyoshi Mochizuki, Yutaka Sasaki, Akinori Kasahara, Masatsugu Hori – 30 December 2003 – The human leukocyte antigen is a crucial genetic factor that initiates or regulates immune response by presenting foreign or self antigens to T lymphocytes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether HLA polymorphism is associated with the onset or progression of liver injury in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Zong‐Zhi Huang, Hongyan Li, Jiaxin Cai, John Kuhlenkamp, Neil Kaplowitz, Shelly C. Lu – 30 December 2003 – We have shown previously that plating primary cultures of rat hepatocytes under low density, which stimulates hepatocytes to shift from the G0 to the G1phase of the cell cycle, resulted in increased levels of glutathione (GSH) and cysteine, and increased activity of γ‐glutamylcysteine synthetase (GCS), the rate‐limiting enzyme in GSH synthesis (Lu et al., Am. J. Physiol. 1992;263:C1181‐C1189).

O Reichard, R Schvarcz, O Weiland – 30 December 2003 – Ribavirin is a nucleoside analogue that has been evaluated as a therapy of chronic hepatitis C alone and in combination with α interferon. Ribavirin is well absorbed orally and is typically given in doses of 1,000 to 1,200 mg/d. Three randomized, placebo‐controlled studies comprising more than 150 patients have shown that therapy with ribavirin alone for 24 to 48 weeks resulted in a significant reduction in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels during therapy.

G C Farrell – 30 December 2003 – Interferon alfa‐n1 is produced from a lymphoid cell line and consists of multiple α interferon subtypes. Early studies indicated that interferon alfa‐n1 was effective against hepatitis C, and a meta‐ analysis of published trials indicated that it was equally likely as recombinant α interferons to produce an end‐of‐treatment biochemical and histological response.

R H Moseley – 30 December 2003

R I Holt, P A Crossey, J S Jones, A J Baker, B Portmann, J P Miell – 30 December 2003 – Major changes in serum levels of insulin‐like growth factor I (IGF‐I) and IGF‐binding proteins (IGFBPs) occur in children with end‐stage liver disease in association with changes in body composition. We hypothesized that these changes would be associated with changes in hepatic messenger RNA (mRNA) expression. Eleven children with end‐stage extrahepatic biliary atresia and 11 controls (liver donors) were studied.

A Ogawa, M Yano, T Tsujinaka, T Morimoto, S Morita, M Taniguchi, H Shiozaki, K Okamoto, S Sato, M Monden – 30 December 2003 – The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in the circadian rhythm of the expression of liver‐specific genes caused by different schedules of parenteral nutrition (PN). Rats received PN continuously throughout the day or intermittently during the night or day for 7 days. They were examined for gene expression of D‐site binding protein (DBP), albumin, and cytochrome P450 cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase (CYP7) in the liver.