Carlo Merkel, Renato Marin, David Sacerdoti, Carlo Donada, Giorgio Cavallarin, Pierluigi Torboli, Piero Amodio, Giuliana Sebastianelli, Massimo Bolognesi, Martina Felder, Cesare Mazzaro, Angelo Gatta – 30 December 2003 – It is clearly established that β‐blockers decrease the risk of a first variceal bleeding in cirrhosis. We have recently shown that the addition of isosorbide mononitrate to nadolol decreases the rate of variceal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis and varices, compared with nadolol alone, after a median follow‐up of 30 months.

Paolo Angeli, Wladimiro Jiménez, Rosalia Veggian, Silvano Fasolato, Roberta Volpin, Harald S. MacHenzie, Raffaella Craighero, Virna Dalla Libera, Antonietta Sticca, Vicente Arroyo, Angelo Gatta – 30 December 2003 – A possible defect of guanosine 3′‐5′‐cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) content in the renal tissue caused by an increased activity of cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) has, so far, not been evaluated in the pathogenesis of renal resistance to endogenous natriuretic peptides (ENP) in cirrhosis with ascites.

Patricia Greenwel, José‐Alfredo Domínguez‐Rosales, Gurjeet Mavi, A. M. Rivas‐Estilla, Marcos Rojkind – 30 December 2003 – Ethanol induces liver fibrosis by several means that include, among others, the direct fibrogenic actions of acetaldehyde and the induction of an oxidative stress response. However, the mechanisms responsible for these activities, and the possible connections between oxidative stress and acetaldehyde‐induced fibrosis are not well understood.

Andrea Galli, David Crabb, Donna Price, Elisabetta Ceni, Renata Salzano, Calogero Surrenti, Alessandro Casini – 30 December 2003 – During liver injury, hepatic stellate cells (HSC) acquire a myofibroblast‐like phenotype associated with reduction of lipid droplets, increased collagen synthesis, and proliferation. Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPARγ) regulates adipocyte differentiation and controls gene transcription in response to various activators including prostanoids and antidiabetic thiazolidinediones.

Chise Tateno, Kaori Takai‐Kajihara, Chihiro Yamasaki, Hajime Sato, Katsutoshi Yoshizato – 30 December 2003 – Nearly pure populations of small hepatocytes (SHs), parenchymal hepatocytes (PHs), and nonparenchymal cells (NPCs) were prepared from the adult rat, and cocultures of hepatocytes and NPCs were reconstituted from them first to obtain the direct evidence that NPCs promote the growth of hepatocytes and second to compare the growth potential between SHs and PHs.

Sandra Reynoso‐Paz, Patrick S.C. Leung, Judy Van de Water, Atsushi Tanaka, Santiago Munoz, Nathan Bass, Keith Lindor, Paul J. Donald, Ross L. Coppel, Aftab A. Ansari, M. Eric Gershwin – 30 December 2003 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is often considered to be a dry gland disease caused by frequent involvement of salivary and lacrimal glands. Although high titers of antimitochondrial autoantibodies (AMA) have long been recognized in PBC, little is known about the presence of mitochondrial autoantigens in mucosal compartments such as saliva.

Franco Trevisani, Giuseppe Sica, Paola Mainquà, Giuseppina Santese, Stefania De Notariis, Paolo Caraceni, Marco Domenicali, Fabio Zacà, Gian Luca Grazi, Alighieri Mazziotti, Antonino Cavallari, Mauro Bernardi – 30 December 2003 – Patients with advanced cirrhosis frequently show hemodynamic abnormalities. Autonomic dysfunction (AD) is also common and, owing to the importance of autonomic function in cardiovascular homeostasis, it may be involved in the pathogenesis of the hyperdynamic circulation.

Kiyoshi Yamazaki, Kazuyuki Suzuki, Atsushi Nakamura, Shunichi Sato, Keith D. Lindor, Kenneth P. Batts, James E. Tarara, Gail M. Kephart, Hirohito Kita, Gerald J. Gleich – 30 December 2003 – Eosinophilia is a distinctive feature of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), especially in its early stages. Intriguingly, treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) ameliorates eosinophilia as well as liver tests in patients with PBC. It remains unknown, however, whether eosinophils in PBC patients are functionally activated and whether UDCA inhibits eosinophil activation.

Hannes Hentze, Gerald Künstle, Christiane Volbracht, Wolfgang Ertel, Albrecht Wendel – 30 December 2003 – Agonistic engagement of the cytokine receptor CD95 in mice leads to activation of hepatic caspases, followed by massive hepatocyte apoptosis, acute liver failure, and death. This mechanism of cell death is thought to be associated with several human liver disorders. Because hepatic glutathione represents the major defense against toxic liver injury, we investigated its role in CD95‐mediated liver failure, which represents a model for hyperinflammatory organ destruction.

Kazuo Ikeda, Tomoyuki Wakahara, Yan Qing Wang, Hirokazu Kadoya, Norifumi Kawada, Kenji Kaneda – 30 December 2003 – In liver injury, hepatic stellate cells are considered to depart from the sinusoidal wall and accumulate in the necrotic lesion through migration and proliferation. In this study, we investigated the migratory capacity of quiescent stellate cells in vitro and analyzed the relationship with proliferative response.