T Kim, H Shijo, H Kokawa, H Tokumitsu, K Kubara, K Ota, N Akiyoshi, T Iida, M Yokoyama, M Okumura – 30 December 2003 – The incidence and the risk factors of hemorrhage from gastric fundal varices (FV) have not been fully evaluated. We therefore conducted a retrospective and prospective study to define the incidence and risk factors for such episodes. We investigated 132 patients with cirrhosis and gastric FV. Of these 132 patients, 15 patients had hemorrhagic FV at the time of enrollment.

K Sakitani, H Kitade, K Inoue, Y Kamiyama, M Nishizawa, T Okumura, S Ito – 30 December 2003 – Recent evidence suggests that nitric oxide (NO) mediates cellular injury under the pathological conditions such as endotoxemia in the liver of rats. Regulation of NO production is crucial for improving the hepatic dysfunction. We have previously reported that, in cultured rat hepatocytes, a single cytokine interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) stimulated a release of nitrite, an oxidation product of NO, into culture medium dose‐ and time‐dependently.

M A Zern, T F Kresina – 30 December 2003 – On September 21‐22, 1995, an international meeting entitled “Targeting of Novel Therapeutics to the Liver and GI Tract” was held at the Natcher Conference Center on the campus of the National Institutes of Health. The conference was sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases through the Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition and Digestive Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee (DDICC).

R Gratzl, R Lassacher, A Majcen, J Graf – 30 December 2003

M Menegazzi, A Carcereri‐De Prati, H Suzuki, H Shinozuka, M Pibiri, R Piga, A Columbano, G M Ledda‐Columbano – 30 December 2003 – Our previous studies have shown a different pattern of immediate early gene and growth factor gene expression between compensatory liver regeneration occurring after cell loss/death and direct hyperplasia induced by primary mitogens.

T Ueki, J Fujimoto, T Suzuki, H Yamamoto, E Okamoto – 30 December 2003 – The c‐met proto‐oncogene encodes the tyrosine kinase receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a potent mitogen and motogen for epithelial cells. Because of its profound effects on cell growth and motility, HGF may be important in the development of cancer metastases in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

A Michalak, R F Butterworth – 30 December 2003 – There is increasing evidence that alterations of glutamatergic function are implicated in the pathogenesis of central nervous system consequences of acute liver failure.

H Imamura, A Brault, P M Huet – 30 December 2003 – Liver sinusoidal endothelial cell impairment and/or microcirculatory disturbances are thought to induce storage‐related graft failure; however, the respective roles of changes induced by extended cold preservation and transplantation, as well as their interactions, are still unknown.

K Chayama, A Tsubota, M Kobayashi, K Okamoto, M Hashimoto, Y Miyano, H Koike, M Kobayashi, I Koida, Y Arase, S Saitoh, Y Suzuki, N Murashima, K Ikeda, H Kumada – 30 December 2003 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1b and high pretreatment virus load are predictive factors of poor response to interferon therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C. To further examine the factors predicting the response to interferon in patients with genotype 1b infection, we analyzed 110 consecutive patients with HCV who were treated with a total of 624 million units of lymphoblastoid interferon alfa.

T Tatsumi, T Takehara, K Katayama, K Mochizuki, M Yamamoto, T Kanto, Y Sasaki, A Kasahara, N Hayashi – 30 December 2003 – Costimulation mediated by costimulatory molecules, such as B7‐1 and B7‐2, which are ligands for the CD28/cytolytic T lymphocyte associated antigen (CTLA)‐4 counter‐receptor, plays an important role in the induction of T cell‐mediated antitumor immunity.