Adam F. Steinlauf, Guadalupe Garcia‐Tsao, Maram F. Zakko, Kevin Dickey, Tarun Gupta, Roberto J. Groszmann – 30 December 2003 – The hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) is becoming increasingly used clinically. It is useful in the differential diagnosis of portal hypertension and provides a prognostic index in cirrhotic patients. Performance of serial measurements has been shown to be useful in guiding pharmacological therapy of portal hypertension and variceal hemorrhage. The technique is safe to perform; however, many patients are anxious and reluctant to undergo serial measurements.

Stephen J. Polyak, Denise M. Paschal, Susan McArdle, Michael J. Jr., Darius Moradpour, David R. Gretch – 30 December 2003 – The hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural 5A (NS5A) protein has been implicated in the inherent resistance of HCV to interferon (IFN) antiviral therapy in clinical studies. Biochemical studies have demonstrated that NS5A interacts in vitro with and inhibits the IFN‐induced, RNA‐dependent protein kinase, PKR, and that NS5A interacts with at least one other cellular kinase.

Margaret James Koziel – 30 December 2003

James Neuberger, Bridget Gunson, Piyawat Komolmit, Mervyn H. Davies, Erik Christensen – 30 December 2003 – Liver transplantation remains the only treatment for patients with end‐stage primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC); however, selection criteria for the procedure and its timing remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to identify pretransplant variables associated with survival after transplantation and to devise a Cox regression model for prediction of post‐transplant survival.

R. Brian Doctor, Rolf H. Dahl, Kelli D. Salter, J. Gregory Fitz – 30 December 2003 – Cholangiocytes contribute significantly to bile formation through the vectorial secretion of water and electrolytes and are a focal site of injury in a number of diseases including liver ischemia and post‐transplantation liver failure. Using ischemia in intact liver and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletion in cultured cells to model cholangiocyte injury, these studies examined the effects of metabolic inhibition on cholangiocyte viability and structure.

Jacquelyn Maher, Rajiv Jalan, Steven W. M. Olde Damink, Peter C. Hayes, Joanna M. Wardlaw – 30 December 2003

Sylvain Brunet, Louise Thibault, Edgard Delvin, Wagner Yotov, Moïse Bendayan, Emile Levy – 30 December 2003 – Although hemochromatosis is characterized by dramatic morphological and functional alterations in the liver, little is known about the effects of an excess of iron on lipid metabolism. Therefore, we determined the effect of chronic iron overload on plasma lipid profile and lipoprotein composition, as well as on hepatic cholesterol metabolism and biliary sterol output.

Yurdana Castelruiz, Esther Larrea, Patricia Boya, María‐Pilar Civeira, Jesús Prieto – 30 December 2003 – Viral infections stimulate the transcription of interferon type I, which includes IFN‐alfa (IFN‐α) (13 subtypes) and IFN‐β (a single substance). Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is remarkable by its ability to evade host antiviral defenses; however, there is little information as to whether endogenous IFN is activated or not in this disease.

Akio Sato – 30 December 2003

Ikuo Wada, Hiroaki Kanada, Kimie Nomura, Yo Kato, Rikuo Machinami, Tomoyuki Kitagawa – 30 December 2003 – The mannose‐6‐phosphate/insulin‐like growth factor 2 receptor (M6P/IGF2R) suppresses cell growth through binding to the insulin‐like growth factor 2 (IGF2) and latent complex of the transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β). Recently, it was reported in the United States that loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and mutations in exons 27, 28, and 31 of the M6P/IGF2R gene are frequent in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and adenomas.