Martin D. Weltman, Geoffrey C. Farrell, Pauline Hall, Magnus Ingelman‐Sundberg, Christopher Liddle – 30 December 2003 – Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has multiple etiologic associations, but the pathogenesis is poorly understood. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2E1 is induced in the liver of patients who drink alcohol to excess and is important in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). We have previously shown that hepatic CYP2E1 is also increased in a rat dietary model of steatohepatitis.

Rosa Maria Pascale, Maria Rosaria De Miglio, Maria Rosaria Muroni, Maria Maddalena Simile, Lucia Daino, Maria Antonietta Seddaiu, Stefano Pusceddu, Leonardo Gaspa, Diego Calvisi, Giacomo Manenti, Francesco Feo – 30 December 2003 – Iron plays an important role in cell growth and metabolism. In preneoplastic liver nodules, a rise in the number of transferrin receptors (Tf‐R) is associated with decreased endocytosis of the Fe2‐Tf/Tf‐R complex. Because nodules are precursors of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the question arises whether changes in iron uptake by nodules persist in HCC.

Fabio Marra, Raffaella DeFranco, Cecilia Grappone, Stefano Milani, Massimo Pinzani, Giulia Pellegrini, Giacomo Laffi, Paolo Gentilini – 30 December 2003 – Thrombin is generated during tissue damage in several organs, including the liver, and participates in the process of tissue repair through proteolytic activation of a specific thrombin receptor(TR).The aim of this study was to investigate TR expression in human liver by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. In normal liver, immunostaining for TR was present in the endothelial lining of the hepatic sinusoids.

Noemí M. Atucha, M. Clara Ortíz, Lourdes A. Fortepiani, Francisco M. Ruiz, Concepción Martínez, Joaquín García‐Estañ – 30 December 2003 – The mechanisms mediating the hyporesponsiveness to vasoconstrictors in portal hypertension are not completely established. In the present study, we evaluated the role of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) and potassium channels as contributors to the pressor hyporesponsiveness to methoxamine (MTX) of the mesenteric vascular bed of portal vein‐ligated (PVL) hypertensive rats.

Masayuki Ohta, Andrzej S. Tarnawski, Rabiha Itani, Rama Pai, Morimasa Tomikawa, Keizo Sugimachi, I. James Sarfeh – 30 December 2003 – Anti–tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α) treatment decreases nitric oxide (NO) synthesis and ameliorates the hyperdynamic circulation in portal hypertensive rats. We have recently demonstrated that nitric oxide synthase isoform 3 (NOS3) is overexpressed in portal hypertensive gastric mucosa and that resultant NO overproduction probably is responsible for the increased susceptibility of the mucosa to damage.

Keigo Ashida, Tadashi Terada, Yukisato Kitamura, Nobuaki Kaibara – 30 December 2003 – Immunolocalization of E‐cadherin (E‐cad), α‐catenin, β‐catenin, and CD44 has rarely been investigated in human cholangiocarcinoma (CC).

Erica Villa, Aisha Dugani, Anna Moles, Lorenzo Camellini, Antonella Grottola, Paola Buttafoco, Annalisa Merighi, Ilva Ferretti, Patrizia Esposito, Lucia Miglioli, Alberto Bagni, Roberto Troisi, Bernard De Hemptinne, Marlene Praet, Francesco Callea, Federico Manenti – 30 December 2003 – Variant estrogen receptors may be found in hepatocellular carcinoma and may influence its natural history.

Timi Martelius, Leena Krogerus, Krister Höckerstedt, Cathrien Bruggeman, Irmeli Lautenschlager – 30 December 2003 – It has been suggested that cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is involved in allograft rejection. In liver transplantation, it has been suggested that CMV is associated with the development of vanishing bile duct syndrome (VBDS), and persistent CMV has been found in liver grafts that develop chronic rejection. In this experimental study, the effect of rat CMV (RCMV) infection on intragraft changes was investigated in a rat model of acute liver allograft rejection.

Sylke Roth, Kristin Michel, Axel M. Gressner – 30 December 2003 – Cultured parenchymal liver cells (PC) were recently recognized to contain (latent) transforming growth factor β (TGF‐β) while the expression of TGF‐β mRNA remains controversial. This study was designed to analyze PC in different microenvironments (liver in situ, highly purified, isolated, and cultured PC) regarding the qualitative and quantitative content of mature and latent TGF‐β protein (immunostainings, enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA], and enzyme‐labeled fluorescence [ELF] technique).

Barbara Scheiber, Hans Goldenberg – 30 December 2003 – The chelator diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA) forms a stable complex with iron that does not donate iron to transferrin under physiological conditions, i.e., pH above 7 and isotonic milieu. It does, however, deliver iron to hepatocytes. This uptake is initiated by a mobilization of the metal from the complex by the cell surface. When an external chelator is added simultaneously, it can bind the iron and inhibit its accumulation by the cells.