Liam Fanning, Elizabeth Kenny, Margaret Sheehan, Bridin Cannon, Michael Whelton, Joe O'Connell, J. Kevin Collins, Fergus Shanahan – 30 December 2003 – Monitoring the progression of hepatitis C virus (HCV) includes clinical, biochemical, and histological parameters. Quantitation of viral load by reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) may offer a more reliable marker of disease status. Conflicting reports on viral titers may reflect heterogeneity of patient population, mode of infection, and viral type/subtype.

Leda Bassit, Gabriela Ribeiro‐Dos‐Santos, Luiz C. Da Silva, Kioko Takei, Paula Villaça, Elias David‐Neto, Dalton Chamone, Amadeo Sáez‐Alquézar – 30 December 2003

Ming‐Whei Yu, Shi‐Yi Yang, Yueh‐Hsia Chiu, Yi‐Ching Chiang, Yun‐Fan Liaw, Chien‐Jen Chen – 30 December 2003 – This study evaluated whether the codon 72 p53 polymorphism was related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Genotypes of p53were determined in 80 incident cases of HCC and 328 controls nested in a cohort study of 4,841 male chronic hepatitis B carriers. No overall increase in HCC risk with thePro variant allele of thep53 polymorphism was apparent.

Matthias J. Bahr, Karen J. Vincent, Michael J. P. Arthur, Andrew V. Fowler, David E. Smart, Matthew C. Wright, Ian M. Clark, R. Christopher Benyon, John P. Iredale, Derek A. Mann – 30 December 2003 – In the injured liver hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) undergo a dramatic phenotypic transformation known as “activation” in which they become myofibroblast‐like and express high levels of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP‐1). HSC activation is accompanied by transactivation of the TIMP‐1 promoter.

Charles D. Howell, Jian Li, Weiran Chen – 30 December 2003 – Intercellular adhesion molecule‐1(ICAM‐1) is expressed abnormally on the bile duct epithelium during the course of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), but the importance of ICAM‐1 and its lymphocyte function‐associated antigen‐1 (LFA‐1) receptor during the course of nonsuppurative destructive cholangitis (NSDC) has not been defined. To address this question, we defined the relationship between ICAM‐1 on the intrahepatic bile duct epithelium and the evolution of NSDC lesions in a mouse graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) model.

Luke F. Hourigan, Graeme A. Macdonald, David Purdie, Vicki H. Whitehall, Claudia Shorthouse, Andrew Clouston, Elizabeth E. Powell – 30 December 2003 – Steatosis is a frequent histological finding in chronic hepatitis C infection; however, the pathophysiology of steatosis and its role in disease progression have not been established. We studied 148 consecutive patients with untreated chronic hepatitis C to assess the effect of body mass index, diabetes mellitus, alcohol consumption, hepatic iron content, and viral load on steatosis and hepatic fibrosis.

30 December 2003

Drazen B. Zimonjic, Catherine L. Keck, Snorri S. Thorgeirsson, Nicholas C. Popescu – 30 December 2003 – To search for recurrent and specific genomic alterations in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we examined 18 cell lines by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), a molecular cytogenetic approach that allows positional identification of gains and losses of DNA sequences of the entire tumor genome.

Hiroshi Imamura, Ryo Shimada, Mitsuru Kubota, Yutaka Matsuyama, Ataru Nakayama, Shin‐ichi Miyagawa, Masatoshi Makuuchi, Seiji Kawasaki – 30 December 2003 – Preoperative portal vein embolization (PVE) was performed in 84 patients before extensive liver resection for various diseases. By the criteria of liver volumetric determination, some patients were candidates for PVE, whereas others were not, even though the same surgical procedure, such as extended right lobectomy (ERL), was scheduled.

Manuel Pérez‐Ruiz, Josefa Ros, Manuel Morales‐Ruiz, Miguel Navasa, Jordi Colmenero, Luis Ruiz‐del‐Arbol, Pilar Cejudo, Joan Clària, Francisca Rivera, Vicente Arroyo, Juan Rodés, Wladimiro Jiménez – 30 December 2003 – Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an angiogenic peptide with vascular permeability and relaxing properties. This study assessed whether peritoneal macrophages of cirrhotic patients can be up‐regulated to produce VEGF under proper stimulatory conditions. Macrophages were isolated from ascites.