Teh‐ia Huo, Jaw‐ching Wu, Pui‐ching Lee, Gar‐yang Chau, Wing‐yu Lui, Shyh‐haw Tsay, Ling‐tan Ting, Full‐young Chang, Shou‐dong Lee – 30 December 2003 – The incidence of delayed hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance in the natural history of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐infected patients was low. Previous studies regarding the prognosis in such patients were controversial. Among 1,355 chronic carriers from 1985 to 1997, spontaneous HBsAg clearance was observed in 55 patients.

Catherine Chaumontet, Giovanna Mazzoleni, Catherine Decaens, Valérie Bex, Doris Cassio, Paule Martel – 30 December 2003 – Gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) plays an essential role in the control of growth, differentiation, and functions of different tissues. The expression of connexins (Cxs), the structural proteins of gap junctions, is developmentally regulated and tissue‐specific In vivo hepatocytes express Cx32 and Cx26. Most currently available in vitro hepatic cell systems express Cx43 instead of the expected Cxs.

Luigi Accatino, Margarita Pizarro, Nancy Solís, Cecilia S. Koenig – 30 December 2003 – Increased biliary secretion of cholesterol and lipid vesicles (unilamellae and multilamellae) induced by diosgenin (D), a plant‐derived steroid, has cytoprotective effects in the rat liver subjected to obstructive cholestasis.

Michelle J. Hooth, Jack L. Vincent, William B. Coleman, Sharon C. Presnell, Joe W. Grisham, Gary J. Smith – 30 December 2003 – The genomic evolution of a cohort of WB‐F344 rat liver epithelial cell lineages undergoing spontaneous neoplastic transformation was followed to define the mechanistic relationship between genomic instability and progression to the neoplastic phenotype.

Shuichi Okada – 30 December 2003

Fabienne Pessione, Françoise Degos, Patrick Marcellin, Véronique Duchatelle, Corinne Njapoum, Michèle Martinot‐Peignoux, Claude Degott, Dominique Valla, Serge Erlinger, Bernard Rueff – 30 December 2003 – The role of alcohol intake in the occurrence of severe liver disease in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) carriers is still debated. A cross‐sectional study has been conducted in 233 chronic hepatitis C virus carriers.

Belinda C. Smith, Jane Grove, Muna A. Guzail, Christopher P. Day, Ann K. Daly, Alastair D. Burt, Margaret F. Bassendine – 30 December 2003 – Hepatic iron has been associated with more aggressive liver disease in chronic viral hepatitis. We evaluated whether the recently described C282Y mutation of the hemochromatosis gene, designated HFE (responsible for at least 83% of hereditary hemochromatosis), was associated with more advanced liver disease in chronic hepatitis C.

Giorgio Senaldi, Christine L. Shaklee, Bernadett Simon, Christopher G. Rowan, David L. Lacey, Thomas Hartung – 30 December 2003 – Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) promotes epithelial growth and differentiation and has potent effects on the liver. The coinjection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and d ‐galactosamine (GalN) results in hepatic failure in mice. Mechanistically, LPS‐induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF) triggers hepatocyte apoptosis, which is enhanced by GalN‐arrested transcription. Similarly, the combination of TNF and actinomycin D (ActD) causes hepatocyte apoptosis in vitro.

William A. Faubion, Gregory J. Gores – 30 December 2003

William M. Lee, K. Rajender Reddy, Myron J. Tong, Martin Black, Dirk J. van Leeuwen, F. Blaine Hollinger, Kevin D. Mullen, Neville Pimstone, Donald Albert, Sheila Gardner – 30 December 2003 – In previous studies employing interferons (IFNs) in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, there have been few reliable predictors of sustained responses.