Torsten Wüstefeld, Tim Rakemann, Stefan Kubicka, Michael P. Manns, Christian Trautwein – 30 December 2003 – Interleukin 6 (IL‐6) is an important mediator of hepatocyte proliferation after hepatectomy. However, elevated IL‐6 levels are found in patients with chronic liver disease. Therefore, it is unclear if hyperstimulation with IL‐6 may have an influence on liver regeneration. We investigated whether a strong activation of IL‐6–dependent pathways may change the course of hepatocyte proliferation after hepatectomy.

Robert P. Perrillo – 30 December 2003

Luis Castilla‐Higuero, Manuel Romero‐Gomez, Emilio Suarez, Manuel Castro – 30 December 2003

Massimo RONCALLI, MAURO BORZIO, PAOLO BIANCHI, LUIGI LAGHI – 30 December 2003

Young‐Myeong Kim, Tae‐Hyoung Kim, Hun‐Taeg Chung, Robert V. Talanian, Xiao‐Ming Yin, Timothy R. Billiar – 30 December 2003 – Mitochondrial cytochrome c release plays a critical role in apoptotic signal cascade after the activation of cell surface death receptors. We investigated the role played by nitric oxide (NO) in mitochondrial apoptotic signaling in tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α) plus actinomycin D (TNF‐α/ActD)‐induced apoptosis.

Stephan F. Schlosser, Francesco Azzaroli, Tao Dao, Ravi Hingorani, I. Nicholas Crispe, James L. Boyer – 30 December 2003 – Hepatocytes constitutively express CD95 (also called Fas/APO‐1) and are therefore potential targets for CD95‐ligand (CD95L)‐mediated injury. To study this mechanism of cell death in hepatocytes we developed an in vitro model of liver cell apoptosis using membrane‐bound CD95L as the inducing agent. Primary mouse hepatocytes were cocultured with NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, stably transfected with mouse CD95L (FCD95L+).

Olivier Chazouilléres, Annie Robert – 30 December 2003

Shin‐Han Yu, Kazuyoshi Nagayama, Nobuyuki Enomoto, Namiki Izumi, Fumiaki Marumo, Chifumi Sato – 30 December 2003 – As a part of the defense mechanism of the host to viral infection, interferons induce the transcription of several genes. These interferon‐inducible genes contribute to the eradication of the viruses. Whereas some studies suggested the participation of a dsRNA‐dependent protein kinase in the host reaction to hepatitis C virus infection, the involvement of other interferon‐inducible genes has not been evaluated.

Evangelista Sagnelli, Nicola Coppola, Carlo Scolastico, Pietro Filippini, Teresa Santantonio, Tommaso Stroffolini, Felice Piccinino – 30 December 2003 – We studied 648 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)‐ and/or anti–hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐positive patients to evaluate the virologic and clinical characteristics of multiple hepatitis viral infection. We defined as Case B‐C an HBsAg/anti‐HCV positive patient and as Case b‐C an anti‐HCV/anti‐HBc‐positive, HBsAg/anti‐HBs–negative patient.

Eric Barriere, Khalid A. Tazi, Jean‐Pierre Rona, Fabienne Pessione, Jörg Heller, Didier Lebrec, Richard Moreau – 30 December 2003 – In cirrhosis, in splanchnic arteries, endothelium‐dependent relaxation may persist even if overactive nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX) are inhibited. In normal arteries, a significant endothelium‐dependent relaxation to acetylcholine persists after NOS/COX inhibition.