Yen‐Hsuan Ni, Mei‐Hwei Chang, Hong‐Yuan Hsu, Huey‐Ling Chen – 30 December 2003 – Core gene deletion mutants of hepatitis B virus (HBV) have been identified in adults. Because the acquisition of HBV occurs mainly in infancy and childhood in hyperendemic areas, this study aimed to learn the temporal profile of such mutants in children with chronic HBV infection. We have followed up 365 HBV‐infected children for more than 10 years and screened out HBV core gene deletion from their sera.

Janet M. Larkin, Bonnie Woo, Vijayan Balan, David L. Marks, Barbara J. Oswald, Nicholas F. LaRusso, Mark A. McNiven – 30 December 2003 – Rab3 isotypes are expressed in regulated secretory cells. Here, we report that rab3D is also expressed in rat hepatocytes, classic models for constitutive secretion. Using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) with primers specific for rat rab3D, we amplified a 151 base pair rab3D fragment from total RNA extracted from primary cultures of rat hepatocytes.

Nils Kinnman, Anders Lindblad, Chantal Housset, Eva Buentke, Annika Scheynius, Birgitta Strandvik, Rolf Hultcrantz – 30 December 2003 – The authors examined the expression of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and its relationship to histopathological changes in cystic fibrosis (CF) liver tissue. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine expression of CFTR, intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) and liver cell‐type markers in liver cryosections in 11 patients with CF‐associated liver disease, and non‐CF controls with (n = 17) and without (n = 3) liver disease.

Alex B. Lentsch, Atsushi Kato, Hiroyuki Yoshidome, Kelly M. McMasters, Michael J. Edwards – 30 December 2003

Rachel Eren, Ehud Ilan, Ofer Nussbaum, Ido Lubin, Dov Terkieltaub, Yossi Arazi, Ofer Ben‐Moshe, Alberto Kitchinzky, Shoshana Berr, Judy Gopher, Arie Zauberman, Eithan Galun, Danny Shouval, Nili Daudi, Ahamed Eid, Oded Jurim, Lars O. Magnius, Berit Hammas, Yair Reisner, Shlomo Dagan – 30 December 2003 – Two human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) generated in the Trimera mouse system are described. Both mAbs 17.1.41 and 19.79.5 are of the IgG1 isotype and have high affinity constants for HBsAg binding in the range of 10−10 mol/L.

Nicola De Maria, Ramazan Idilman, Alessandra Colantoni, James M. Harig, David H. Van Thiel – 30 December 2003

Shruti H. Mehta, Frederick L. Brancati, Mark S. Sulkowski, Steffanie A. Strathdee, Moyses Szklo, David L. Thomas – 30 December 2003

Ilias Stefas, Marcel Rucheton, Arnaud Dupuy D'Angeac, Christine Morel‐Baccard, Jean M. Seigneurin, Jean P. Zarski, Marianne Martin, Martine Cerutti, Jean Pierre Bossy, Dorothée Missé, Hubert Graafland, Francisco Veas – 30 December 2003 – Human apolipoprotein H (apo H) was found to bind specifically to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) from hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐infected individuals. We used recombinant HBsAg proteins to analyze HBV domains recognized by apo H. We showed that the myristylated pre‐S1 domain of HBsAg strongly interacted with apo H.

Jacques‐Emmanuel Guidotti, Vincent O. Mallet, David Parlier, Claudia Mitchell, Monique Fabre, Patrick Jaffray, Martine Lambert, Axel Kahn, Hélène Gilgenkrantz – 30 December 2003 – Stable gene transfer into hepatocytes has been proposed to compensate for genetic deficiencies that affect liver function, or to deliver diffusible factors into the circulation. This strategy can be achieved using retroviral vectors; however, cell division must occur.

Katsuhiko Fukuda, Katsuya Tsuchihara, Makoto Hijikata, Shuhei Nishiguchi, Tetsuo Kuroki, Kunitada Shimotohno – 30 December 2003 – Mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways play key roles in cell proliferation, transformation of mammalian cells, and the stress response. We and other investigators showed that hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein has an oncogenic potential, but its mechanism has remained unknown.