Curt Einarsson, Carl‐Gustaf Hillebrant, Magnus Axelson – 30 December 2003 – The degradation of cholesterol to bile acids is regulated by a negative‐feedback mechanism by the bile acids, especially the hydrophobic bile acids, returning to the liver via the portal vein. Chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) is a potent suppressor of the cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase, the rate‐determining enzyme in bile acid formation. CDCA may also suppress hepatic 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methyl glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase, the rate‐limiting enzyme in cholesterol synthesis.

Satdarshan P. S. Monga, Peter Pediaditakis, Karen Mule, Donna Beer Stolz, George K. Michalopoulos – 30 December 2003 – The wnt/β‐catenin pathway is important during embryogenesis and carcinogenesis. β‐Catenin interaction with E‐cadherin has been shown to be crucial in cell‐cell adhesion. We report novel findings in the wnt pathway during rat liver regeneration after 70% partial hepatectomy using Western blot analyses, immunoprecipitation studies, and immunofluorescence. We found wnt‐1 and β‐catenin proteins to be predominantly localized in hepatocytes.

Ahmed Helmy, Rajiv Jalan, David Ernest Newby, Neil Russell Johnston, Peter Clive Hayes, David John Webb – 30 December 2003 – Plasma endothelin concentrations are elevated in cirrhosis and correlate with disease severity. This study assessed forearm vascular responses to exogenous endothelin‐1 (ET‐1), and evaluated the contribution of endogenous ET‐1 to the maintenance of basal peripheral vascular tone in patients with well‐compensated cirrhosis (n = 11) and matched healthy controls (n = 8).

Beatriz Castañeda, Josephine Morales, Raffaella Lionetti, Eduardo Moitinho, Victoria Andreu, Sofía Pérez‐del‐Pulgar, Pilar Pizcueta, Juan Rodés, Jaime Bosch – 30 December 2003 – The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of different strategies of blood volume restitution in the outcome of portal hypertension–related bleeding in anesthetized cirrhotic rats. Gastrointestinal hemorrhage was induced by sectioning a first order branch of the ileocolic vein in 38 cirrhotic rats (common bile duct ligation and occlusion).

Baruch Yerushalmi, Rolf Dahl, Michael W. Devereaux, Eric Gumpricht, Ronald J. Sokol – 30 December 2003 – The accumulation of hydrophobic bile acids plays a role in the induction of apoptosis and necrosis of hepatocytes during cholestasis. The aim of this study was to determine in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes the roles of oxidant stress and the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) in bile acid‐induced apoptosis.

Natalia Nieto, Jose A. Dominguez‐Rosales, Luis Fontana, Adriana Salazar, Juan Armendariz‐Borunda, Patricia Greenwel, Marcos Rojkind – 30 December 2003 – The acute‐phase response (APR) represents a systemic reaction of the organism to multiple nonspecific inflammatory stimuli. In general, it is protective for the host, and hepatocytes are the main cells responding with alterations in the expression of a set of liver‐specific proteins named the acute‐phase proteins.

Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, Judy Thompson, Nancy Smith‐Wilkaitis, Elizabeth M. Brunt, Bruce R. Bacon – 30 December 2003 – Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) may result in cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. A minority of patients have a sustained response to antiviral therapy, and nonresponders remain at risk of developing progressive liver disease. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial of therapy with the combination of interferon (IFN) and ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C who had not responded to an initial course of therapy with IFN alone.

Lieven J. Stuyver, Stephen A. Locarnini, Anna Lok, Douglas D. Richman, William F. Carman, Jules L. Dienstag, Raymond F. Schinazi – 30 December 2003 – There is currently no universally accepted numbering convention for the antiviral drug‐related resistance mutations in the reverse transcriptase (rt) domain of the human hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase. The published inconsistencies have resulted from different HBV genotypes. A standardized numbering system for HBV polymerase is proposed.

K. Rajender Reddy, Teresa L. Wright, Paul J. Pockros, Mitchell Shiffman, Gregory Everson, Robert Reindollar, Michael W. Fried, Preston P. Purdum, Donald Jensen, Coleman Smith, William M. Lee, Thomas D. Boyer, Amy Lin, Simon Pedder, Jean DePamphilis – 30 December 2003 – Administration of interferon (IFN) 3 times weekly in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is associated with low sustained responses, which may be, in part, related to this regimen's inability to maintain IFN concentrations sufficient to suppress viral replication.

Nobuya Makino, Makoto Suematsu, Yoshiaki Sugiura, Hiroyasu Morikawa, Susumu Shiomi, Nobuhito Goda, Tsuyoshi Sano, Yuji Nimura, Keizo Sugimachi, Yuzuru Ishimura – 30 December 2003 – This study was designed to determine changes in expression of heme oxygenase (HO)‐1, the stress‐inducible and carbon monoxide–producing enzyme, in normotensive and portal hypertensive human livers. GTS‐1, a monoclonal antibody against rat HO‐1 cross‐reacted with the human HO‐1 and blocked its enzyme activity, allowing us to examine the activity and localization of HO‐1.