Toshiaki Ninomiya, Koichiro Mihara, Kazuo Fushimi, Yoshitake Hayashi, Tomoko Hashimoto‐Tamaoki, Taiki Tamaoki – 30 December 2003 – We investigated mechanisms regulating expression of α‐fetoprotein (AFP) in 3 human hepatoma cell lines, HuH‐7, HepG2, and huH‐1, producing high, medium, and low levels of AFP, respectively. The silencer, a negative cis‐acting element of the AFP gene, was highly activated in huH‐1 and HepG2 to repress AFP enhancer activity by 91%, whereas only 26% repression was observed in HuH‐7.

Isabelle Auvigne, Virginie Pichard, Dominique Aubert, Nelly Robillard, Nicolas Ferry – 30 December 2003 – Genetic labeling using recombinant retroviruses is a powerful strategy for the study of cell lineage in the liver. However, this type of vector is only able to infect dividing cells. The synthetic steroid cyproterone acetate (CPA) is mitogenic and carcinogenic in the adult rat liver. In this study, we used retroviral vectors carrying the nuclear targeted β‐galactosidase gene to selectively label and follow the fate of hepatocytes dividing on administration of CPA.

Magdalena Salcedo, Javier Vaquero, Rafael Bañares, Margarita Rodríguez‐Mahou, Emilio Alvarez, Jose Luis Vicario, Alicia Hernández‐Albújar, José Luis R. Tíscar, Diego Rincón, Sonia Alonso, Alejandro De Diego, Gerardo Clemente – 30 December 2003 – Graft dysfunction associated with autoimmune phenomena has been recently described in liver transplant recipients without previous autoimmune disease. However, the natural history, diagnostic criteria, and definitive therapeutic approach of de novo autoimmune hepatitis (de novo AIH) are poorly understood.

Peter Ferenci, Alan Lockwood, Kevin Mullen, Ralph Tarter, Karin Weissenborn, Andres T. Blei – 30 December 2003 – Research on hepatic encephalopathy is hampered by the imprecise definition of this disabling complication of liver disease. Under this light, the Organisation Mondiale de Gastroentérologie commissioned a Working Party to reach a consensus in this area and to present it at the 11th World Congress of Gastroenterology in Vienna (1998). The Working Party continued its work thereafter and now present their final report.

Oliviero Riggio, Stefania Angeloni, Giorgia Nicolini, Manuela Merli, Carlo Merkel – 30 December 2003

Reiner Wiest, Roberto J. Groszmann – 30 December 2003

E. Anthony Jones – 30 December 2003

John G. McHutchison, Thierry Poynard, Rafael Esteban‐Mur, Gary L. Davis, Zachary D. Goodman, Joann Harvey, Mei‐Hsiu Ling, Jean Jacques Garaud, Janice K. Albrecht, Keyur Patel, Jules L. Dienstag – 30 December 2003 – The clinical use of measuring hepatic hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA before and after therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C has been assessed in a number of small clinical trials. Viral clearance from the liver may be a better marker of long‐term response than eradication of serum HCV RNA.

Damien Jeantet, Isabelle Chemin, Bernard Mandrand, Fabien Zoulim, Christian Trepo, Alan Kay – 30 December 2003 – In a study of surface antigen‐negative, but weakly hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA‐positive, patients, we were able to amplify and clone whole HBV genomes from the serum of a cirrhotic patient. Sequencing showed that the patient harbored two different HBV populations, one of genotype A and the other of genotype D, with the genotype D genome apparently predominating.

Giorgio La Villa, Giuseppe Barletta, Roberto Giulio Romanelli, Giacomo Laffi, Riccarda Del Bene, Francesco Vizzutti, Pietro Pantaleo, Valeria Mazzocchi, Paolo Gentilini – 30 December 2003 – In patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension, standing induces a reduction in cardiac index (CI) and an increase in systemic vascular resistance index.