Frank Petrat, Ursula Rauen, Herbert de Groot – 30 December 2003 – The intracellular pool of chelatable iron is considered to be a decisive pathogenetic factor for various kinds of cell injury. We therefore set about establishing a method of detecting chelatable iron in isolated hepatocytes based on digital fluorescence microscopy. The fluorescence of hepatocytes loaded with the fluorescent metal indicators, phen green SK (PG SK), phen green FL (PG FL), calcein, or fluorescein desferrioxamine (FL‐DFO), was quenched when iron was added to the cells in a membrane‐permeable form.

Alan F. Hofmann – 30 December 2003

Bradley S. Taylor, Shubing Liu, Raphael T. Villavicencio, Raymond W. Ganster, David A. Geller – 30 December 2003 – Previously, we demonstrated that nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) mediates cytokine‐induced hepatic inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression. NF‐κB activation is regulated by kinases and phosphatases whose function is only beginning to be understood. Therefore, experiments were performed to determine the role of protein phosphatases (PPase) in cytokine‐induced iNOS expression.

Charles M. Rice – 30 December 2003

José García de la Asunción, María L. del Olmo, Juan Sastre, Federico V. Pallardó, José Viña – 30 December 2003 – Zidovudine (3′‐azido‐2′,3′‐dideoxythymidine [AZT]) inhibits human immunodeficiency virus replication and delays progression of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. We have recently found that, in muscle, AZT causes oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and other signs of mitochondrial oxidative damage. The aim of this work was to test if AZT causes oxidative damage to liver mtDNA.

Stephen H. Caldwell, David H. Oelsner, Julia C. Iezzoni, Elizabeth E. Hespenheide, Emily H. Battle, Carolyn J. Driscoll – 30 December 2003 – We characterized 70 consecutive patients with cryptogenic cirrhosis to assess major risks for liver disease. Each patient was reevaluated for past alcohol exposure, scored by the International Autoimmune Hepatitis (IAH) score and assessed for viral hepatitis risks and risks for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Arun J. Sanyal, Faridoddin Mirshahi – 30 December 2003 – The phenotype of the endothelial cells (ECs) in the pseudointima of transjugular intrahepatic portasystemic shunts (TIPS) and the mechanisms of pseudointima formation after TIPS were unknown. We hypothesized that TIPS were lined by hepatic sinusoidal ECs, which stimulated the migration of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) into the pseudointima and their proliferation.

Daniel Rost, Jürgen Kartenbeck, Dietrich Keppler – 30 December 2003 – Administration of phalloidin, one of the toxic peptides of the mushroom Amanita phalloides, leads to rapid and sustained cholestasis in rats. Although attributed to the interaction of phalloidin with microfilaments, the events leading to cholestasis are incompletely understood. The adenosine triphosphate (ATP)‐dependent, apical conjugate export pump, termed multidrug resistance protein 2 (Mrp2) or canalicular multispecific organic anion transporter, is the major driving force for bile salt‐independent bile flow.

Maria Teresa Bardella, Maurizio Vecchi, Dario Conte, Ersilio Del Ninno, Mirella Fraquelli, Stefania Pacchetti, Eliseo Minola, Marina Landoni, Bruno Mario Cesana, Roberto De Franchis – 30 December 2003 – In a subset of patients attending liver units, a chronic increase in serum transaminases may remain of undetermined cause despite thorough investigations. On the other hand, elevated levels of serum transaminases have been reported in about 40% of adult celiac patients.

Shi‐Ming Lin, I‐Shyan Sheen, Rong‐Nan Chien, Chia‐Ming Chu, Yun‐Fan Liaw – 30 December 2003 – To examine the long‐term effect of interferon (IFN) therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, particularly on survival and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prevention, 101 male patients with chronic hepatitis B in a randomized controlled trial were followed up for 1.1 to 11.5 years after the end of therapy.