Wei‐Nan Lian, Jin‐Wu Tsai, Pang‐Mien Yu, Tzu‐Wei Wu, Shun‐Chun Yang, Yat‐Pang Chau, Chi‐Hung Lin – 30 December 2003 – We have used human hepatoma cell lines as an in vitro model to study the development of hepatic bile canaliculi (BC). Well‐differentiated hepatoma cells cultured for 72 hours could develop characteristic spheroid structures at sites of cell‐cell contact that contained tight junctions and various membrane protein markers, resembling BC found in vivo. Intact cytoskeleton was essential for this differentiation process.

Daniel Ackermann, Bruno Vogt, Geneviève Escher, Bernhard Dick, Jürg Reichen, Brigitte M. Frey, Felix J. Frey – 30 December 2003 – Renal sodium retention and potassium loss occur early, in many instances in the preascitic state of cirrhosis, an observation that cannot be fully explained by increased aldosterone concentrations. We therefore hypothesize that 11β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 (11β‐HSD2), which protects mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) from glucocorticosteroids, is down‐regulated in cirrhosis. Cirrhosis was induced by bile duct ligation in rats.

Manuela Merli, Frida Leonetti, Oliviero Riggio, Valentina Valeriano, Mária Cristina Ribaudo, Fabio Sprati, Giuseppe Tisone, Carlo Umberto Casciani, Livio Capocaccia – 30 December 2003 – Cirrhosis is often associated with insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. We evaluated if these alterations are restored by liver transplantation (LT).

Andreas Cerny, Francis V. Chisari – 30 December 2003 – The immune response to viral antigens is thought to be responsible for viral clearance and disease pathogenesis during hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. In chronically infected patients, the T‐cell response to the HCV is polyclonal and multispecific, although it is not as strong as the response in acutely infected patients who display a more vigorous T‐cell response. Importantly, viral clearance in acutely infected patients is associated with a strong CD4+ helper T‐cell response.

Rafael Enriquez de Salamanca, Pablo Morales, M. Jose Castro, Ricardo Rojo, Mario Gonzalez, Antonio Arnaiz‐Villena – 30 December 2003

Angela M. Madden, Marsha Y. Morgan – 30 December 2003 – Measurements of resting energy expenditure (REE) can be used to determine energy requirements. Prediction formulae can be used to estimate REE but have not been validated in cirrhotic patients. REE was measured, by indirect calorimetry, in 100 cirrhotic patients and 41 comparable healthy volunteers, and the results compared with estimates predicted using the Harris‐Benedict, Schofield, Mifflin, Cunningham, and Owen formulae, and the disease‐specific Müller formula.

Calogero Cammà, Marco Giunta, Liliana Chemello, Alfredo Alberti, Hidenori Toyoda, Christian Trepo, Patrick Marcellin, Friederike Zahm, Solko Schalm, Antonio Craxì – 30 December 2003 – Relapse after interferon (IFN) therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection occurs in 50% of patients after the initial response. The benefit of retreatment with IFN alone has not been assessed in large controlled studies.

Tushar Patel, Clifford J. Steer, Gregory J. Gores – 30 December 2003

Zobair M. Younossi, Terry Gramlich, Bruce R. Bacon, Christi A. Matteoni, Navdeep Boparai, Rosemary O'Neill, Arthur J. McCullough – 30 December 2003 – Increased iron is suspected to enhance hepatic injury associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFL). We evaluated the impact of iron accumulation on the outcome of NAFL. Patients with NAFL were identified from our database. Twenty‐two clinicodemographic and 19 pathological features were available for each patient.

Piotr Krzeski, Wlodzimierz Zych, Ewa Kraszewska, Bohdan Milewski, Eugeniusz Butruk, Andrzej Habior – 30 December 2003 – From the many prognostic models for primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) patients based on Cox's regression analysis, the Mayo model has gained the most popularity and was successfully validated in some centers. The aim of our study was to validate the Mayo survival model for Polish PBC patients and, in case of its inapplicability, to select prognostic variables and to create time‐fixed and time‐dependent survival models for the patients.