Janet Stephens, Mary Cosyns, Michelle Jones, Anthony Hayward – 30 December 2003 – Patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and boys with mutations of the CD154 gene (causing congenital X‐linked immunodeficiency with hyper‐IgM [XHIM]) are susceptible to chronic infections of the biliary tract with Cryptosporidium parvum (CP) that may lead to biliary sclerosis and ultimately to cholangiocarcinoma.

Jonathan A. Dranoff, Mitchell McClure, Angela D. Burgstahler, Lee A. Denson, Aleta R. Crawford, James M. Crawford, Saul J. Karpen, Michael H. Nathanson – 30 December 2003 – The Na+‐taurocholate cotransport polypeptide (ntcp) is the primary transporter for the uptake of bile acids in the liver. The second messenger adenosine 3′:5′‐cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) rapidly increases ntcp protein concentration in the plasma membrane, yet the mechanism is unknown.

Jürgen Scheibner, Michael Fuchs, Erwin Hörmann, Eduard F. Stange – 30 December 2003 – Hepatic bile acid synthesis is regulated by recirculating bile acids, possibly by modulating the availability of newly synthesized and preformed cholesterol. Because data in the hamster on this mechanism are lacking, we fitted these animals with an extracorporeal bile duct and administered tritiated water intraperitoneally to label newly formed cholesterol.

Ilana Harman‐Boehm, Leonid Zingman, Nir Hilzenrat – 30 December 2003

Götz Kallien, Kerstin Lange, Eduard F. Stange, Jürgen Scheibner – 30 December 2003 – 3‐Hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG‐CoA) reductase inhibitors have been reported to suppress biliary cholesterol secretion and saturation. It remains unproven whether this is mediated by inhibition of cholesterol synthesis. Therefore, the effect of a long‐term administration of pravastatin on cholesterogenesis and on biliary lipid secretion was investigated in seven healthy volunteers. Placebo or 40 mg of pravastatin were taken daily at bedtime for 5 weeks using a double‐blind crossover design.

David E. Jones, Oliver F. James, Bernard Portmann, Alastair D. Burt, Roger Williams, Mark Hudson – 30 December 2003 – Two patients undergoing liver transplantation for classical end‐stage primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) are described, who went on to develop de novo autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) in the transplanted liver. The presentation, in both instances, was with malaise and lethargy. Markedly elevated serum transaminases were found, together with a raised serum IgG and/or globulin fraction and histological features on liver biopsy typical of AIH.

Françoise Lunel, Pascale Cresta, Damien Vitour, Christopher Payan, Bruno Dumont, Lionel Frangeul, Dorothée Reboul, Christine Brault, Jean‐Charles Piette, Jean‐Marie Huraux – 30 December 2003 – Several studies have shown a relationship between pretreatment hepatitis C virus (HCV) viral load and the response to interferon (IFN) therapy, creating a need for quantitative HCV‐RNA assays.

Hugo R. Rosen, Joseph P. Madden, Paul Martin – 30 December 2003 – In the current era of critical‐organ shortage, one of the most controversial questions facing transplantation teams is whether hepatic retransplantation, which has historically been associated with increased resource utilization and diminished survival, should be offered to a patient whose first allograft is failing. Retransplantation effectively denies access to orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) to another candidate and further depletes an already‐limited organ supply.

Piotr Milkiewicz, Charles O. Mills, Marcelo G. Roma, Jalal Ahmed‐Choudhury, Elwyn Elias, Roger Coleman – 30 December 2003 – The monohydroxy bile acid, taurolithocholate (TLC), causes cholestasis in vivo and in isolated perfused livers. It is also cholestatic in vitro and, in this study using isolated rat hepatocyte couplets, causes a reduction of the accumulation of (fluorescent) bile acid in the canalicular vacuoles (cVA) of this polarized cell preparation.

Thomas M. Berghaus, Andreas Baron, Andreas Geier, Rolf Lamerz, Gustav Paumgartner, Peter Conzen – 30 December 2003