Leonhard Mohr, Julia I. Schauer, Raymond H. Boutin, Darius Moradpour, Jack R. Wands – 30 December 2003 – Gene therapy approaches for the treatment of malignant tumors will require high‐level expression of therapeutic genes in tumors compared with normal tissues. This may be achieved either by targeted gene delivery to tumor cells or by the use of tumor‐specific promoters.

Gary L. Davis – 30 December 2003 – Alpha interferon therapy of chronic hepatitis C is typically accompanied by a biphasic decrease in hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels: an initial rapid decline during the first 24 to 48 hours, and a second more gradual decline during the following weeks. The rate of second‐phase decline correlates with ultimate response to interferon treatment. Thus, assessment of early virological response (EVR) may predict outcome.

Eve A. Roberts, Latifa Yeung – 30 December 2003 – Mother‐to‐infant transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is comparatively uncommon. The prevalence of antibody to HCV (anti‐HCV) in pregnant women is 0.1% to 2.4%, although in some endemic areas it is much higher. The proportion of women with anti‐HCV who have active infection with viremia is 60% to 70%. Transmission of HCV occurs only when serum HCV RNA is detectable and may be related to higher levels (above 106 copies per mL). The rate of mother‐to‐infant transmission is 4% to 7% per pregnancy in women with HCV viremia.

Jules L. Dienstag – 30 December 2003 – The report of the 1997 National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on hepatitis C endorsed pretreatment liver biopsy. We revisit the following questions: Does liver histology help determine the urgency of, and predict the likelihood of response to, antiviral therapy, and can surrogate markers supplant histological assessment?

Giovanna M. Ledda‐Columbano, Monica Pibiri, Danilo Concas, Costanza Cossu, Marco Tripodi, Amedeo Columbano – 30 December 2003 – Cyclin D1 is considered to play a critical role in the progression from G1 to S phase of the cell cycle, and its overexpression is seen in many human tumors. However, previous studies in cell lines have shown that cyclin D1 is not sufficient to trigger cell replication.

Xavier Forns, Sergi Ampurdanès, Josep M. Llovet, John Aponte, Llorenç Quintó, Eva Martínez‐Bauer, Miquel Bruguera, Jose Maria Sánchez‐Tapias, Juan Rodés – 30 December 2003 – Liver biopsy is required for staging hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C, but it is an expensive procedure with occasional complications and poor patient acceptance. This cohort study was designed to assess the accuracy of a noninvasive method aimed to discriminate between patients with and without significant liver fibrosis (stages 2‐4 versus 0‐1).

Andres T. Blei – 30 December 2003

Jens O. Karlsson, Martin L. Yarmush, Mehmet Toner – 30 December 2003 – Two characteristic elements of the acute‐phase response are an altered pattern of circulating hepatic proteins and fever. Whereas a fever‐induced heat shock response could affect expression of acute‐phase proteins in the liver, the effects of a modest temperature increase on protein secretion in interleukin‐6 (IL‐6)–stimulated HepG2 cells were investigated. The response of HepG2 cells to IL‐6 stimulation was significantly affected by heat treatment at 40°C.

Hans Fromm – 30 December 2003

Hal F. Yee – 30 December 2003 – Hepatic stellate cell activation, thought to play a key role in fibrosis of the liver, is characterized by changes in cellular morphology. The intracellular signals regulating morphological alterations associated with stellate cell activation are uncertain. The ras‐like guanosine triphosphate–binding protein, rho, has recently emerged as an important regulator of the actin cytoskeleton, and consequently cell morphology.