Masahiro Yamamoto, Kazunori Fukuda, Naoko Miura, Rie Suzuki, Toshitaka Kido, Yasuhiro Komatsu – 30 December 2003 – The authors previously reported that transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1) induces apoptosis in McA‐RH7777 (7777) and McA‐RH8994 (8994) rat hepatoma cell lines. Although these cell lines exhibit different responses to glucocorticoid treatment in various cellular functions and gene expression, dexamethasone (DEX) inhibited spontaneous and TGF‐β1 –induced apoptosis in both.

Franziska Boess, Martin Bopst, Roland Althaus, Stacey Polsky, Steven D. Cohen, Hans‐Pietro Eugster, Urs A. Boelsterli – 30 December 2003 – Recent evidence suggests that macrophages and/or other nonparenchymal cells may release important mediators contributing to the hepatic necrosis induced by high doses of acetaminophen (APAP). The nature and causative role of these mediators has remained elusive, however.

Kevin Moore – 30 December 2003

30 December 2003 – Hepatic injury induced by ischemia and reperfusion is an important clinical problem after liver resection or transplantation. Neutrophils are known to mediate the organ injury, but the precise mechanisms leading to hepatic neutrophil recruitment are undefined. Two CXC chemokines, macrophage inflammatory protein‐2 (MIP‐2) and KC, are potently chemotactic for neutrophils in vitro and have been reported to be involved in neutrophil‐dependent inflammatory tissue injury.

Rebecca Taub – 30 December 2003

Piero Amodio, Piergiorgio Marchetti, Franco Del Piccolo, Giovanni Campo, Cristiano Rizzo, Rosa Maria Iemmolo, Giorgio Gerunda, Lorenza Caregaro, Carlo Merkel, Angelo Gatta – 30 December 2003 – Attentional dysfunction, which influences overall cognitive productivity, is not well characterized in cirrhotic patients. The aim of this study was to clarify the features of covert visual attention orienting in cirrhotics without overt hepatic encephalopathy. One hundred consecutive cirrhotic patients and 40 controls were enrolled.

Luca S. Belli, Luciano de Carlis, Gianfranco Rondinara, Alberto B. Alberti, Giorgio Bellati, Andrea De Gasperi, Domenico Forti, G. Idèo – 30 December 2003 – Maintenance of adequate immunosuppression and avoidance of side‐effects are the goals of long‐term management of all organ‐transplanted patients. We here report the final results of a prospective, randomized trial comparing early cyclosporine monotherapy versus double‐drug therapy (cyclosporine and steroids) in adult liver transplantation patients.

Antonina Smedile, John L. Casey, Paul J. Cote, Marilena Durazzo, Bruna Lavezzo, Robert H. Purcell, Mario Rizzetto, John L. Gerin – 30 December 2003 – Patients receiving orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) because of type D hepatitis frequently exhibit what appears to be an autonomous, or “isolated,” hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection following the transplantation, with no evidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the graft or in the serum.

Tomohiko Aihara, Shinzaburo Noguchi, Yasuo Miyoshi, Hiroshi Nakano, Yo Sasaki, Yusuke Nakamura, Morito Monden, Shingi Imaoka – 30 December 2003 – Allelic imbalance of the insulin‐like growth factor II (IGF II) gene expression is often seen in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Alexander S. Petrides, Timmye Stanley, Dwight E. Matthews, Christoph Vogt, Andrew J. Bush, Helen Lambeth – 30 December 2003 – Insulin resistance is present in nearly all patients with cirrhosis, but its etiology remains unknown. Chronic hyperinsulinemia has been suspected as a potential candidate, and we therefore tested the hypothesis that, in cirrhosis, prolonged reduction of the hyperinsulinemia restores insulin sensitivity.