S Tanaka, L Mohr, E V Schmidt, K Sugimachi, J R Wands – 30 December 2003 – The human insulin receptor substrate‐1 (hIRS‐1) is a key intracellular protein involved in various cytokine signaling pathways associated with cell growth. We have previously demonstrated that stable transfection and overexpression of hIRS‐1 in human hepatoblastoma cells in vitro leads to the constitutive activation of the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. In this setting, hIRS‐1 acts as a dominant oncogene and will induce neoplastic transformation of NIH 3T3 cells.

E Olaso, A Santisteban, J Bidaurrazaga, A M Gressner, J Rosenbaum, F Vidal‐Vanaclocha – 30 December 2003 – In this work we report the presence of intrametastatic smooth‐muscle iso‐α‐actin (SMA)‐expressing cells which appeared from the early stages of the hepatic metastasis process of intrasplenically injected B16 melanoma (B16M) cells. They formed a network of stromal cells among B16M cells, a very low percentage of them expressing desmin.

M J Arthur – 30 December 2003

L B Seeff – 30 December 2003

J R Jonsson, P G Hogan, G A Balderson, L L Ooi, S V Lynch, R W Strong, E E Powell – 30 December 2003 – In vitro studies designed to examine the mechanisms of immune tolerance after liver transplantation in humans have been hampered by the difficulty in obtaining sufficient numbers of donor liver‐associated leukocytes (LALs). We have investigated whether the ex vivo perfusion of donor livers releases a population of LALs that can be readily retrieved from the waste fluid.

M Pozzi, S Carugo, G Boari, V Pecci, S de Ceglia, S Maggiolini, G B Bolla, L Roffi, M Failla, G Grassi, C Giannattasio, G Mancia – 30 December 2003 – Cirrhosis is associated with cardiovascular abnormalities. Scanty information is available as to whether these include left ventricle diastolic dysfunction and wall thickness increase.

C S An, L M Petrovic, I Reyter, T Tolmachoff, L D Ferrell, S N Thung, S A Geller, A M Marchevsky – 30 December 2003 – Liver cell dysplasia (LCD) is considered a preneoplastic lesion, whose characterization and differentiation from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and from the reactive changes seen in cirrhosis has been controversial. We studied 12 cases of LCD (large cell type) with image analysis techniques (IA) and compared the findings with those of HCC (n = 40), and a spectrum of non‐neoplastic hepatic lesions including normal liver and cirrhosis (n = 49).

T F Kresina – 30 December 2003

M J Sharrard, M Durkie, M S Tanner – 30 December 2003

A M Larson, G C Chan, C F Wartelle, J P McVicar, R L Carithers, G M Hamill, K V Kowdley – 30 December 2003 – There is controversy about the frequency of and risk factors for infectious complications of percutaneous liver biopsy in liver transplant recipients. The aim of this study was to identify the incidence and nature of complications associated with liver biopsy after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), with particular emphasis on infection.