Yoshiaki Ito, Takaaki Matsui, Akihide Kamiya, Taisei Kinoshita, Atsushi Miyajima – 30 December 2003 – We recently demonstrated that oncostatin M (OSM) in the presence of glucocorticoid promotes development of fetal hepatic cells in a primary culture system. Our results also suggested that OSM transduces differentiation signals through gp130, a common subunit of the interleukin (IL)‐6 family cytokine receptors. However, an essential downstream pathway required for hepatic development remains unknown.

Yukihiro Koike, Yasushi Shiratori, Shinpei Sato, Shuntaro Obi, Takuma Teratani, Masatoshi Imamura, Keisuke Hamamura, Yasuo Imai, Haruhiko Yoshida, Shuichiro Shiina, Masao Omata – 30 December 2003 – Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) frequently experience intrahepatic HCC recurrence even after complete ablation of primary lesions. Because the oncogenic process may be different for hepatitis B viral (B‐viral) and hepatitis C viral (C‐viral) HCC, the present study was conducted to elucidate the factors contributing to HCC recurrence with respect to the infected hepatitis virus.

Miguel E. Sewnath, Han H. M. Levels, Ronald Oude Elferink, Cornelis J. F. van Noorden, Fiebo J. W. ten Kate, Sander J. H. van Deventer, Dirk J. Gouma – 30 December 2003 – Cholestatic patients have substantial morbidity because of increased susceptibility to endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide [LPS]). Although reconstituted high‐density lipoprotein (rHDL) can bind and neutralize LPS, cholestasis is associated with a near complete absence of HDL. Effects of rHDL infusion on the outcome of LPS‐induced inflammatory responses in cholestatic rats were determined.

David A. Shafritz – 30 December 2003

Klaas Poelstra – 30 December 2003

Walther Honscha, Kerstin U. Dötsch, Nadine Thomsen, Ernst Petzinger – 30 December 2003 – We have cloned two complementary DNAs (cDNAs), RL‐Mtx‐1 and RL‐Mtx‐2, corresponding to the bile acid‐ sensitive methotrexate carrier from rat liver by direct full‐length rapid amplification of cDNA ends polymerase chain reaction (RACE‐PCR) using degenerated primers that were deduced from published sequences of tumor cell methotrexate transporters. When expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes and cosM6 cells, both clones mediate methotrexate and bumetanide transport.

Stanislas Pol, Bertrand Nalpas, Marc Bourlière, Patrice Couzigou, Albert Tran, Armand Abergel, Jean‐Pierre Zarski, Pierre Berthelot, Christian Bréchot – 30 December 2003 – The purpose of this study was to compare interferon‐alfa alone (12‐month course with high initial doses) with a combination of interferon‐alfa and ribavirin in patients infected with genotype 1b.

Neil D. Theise, Young Nyun Park, Swan N. Thung – 30 December 2003

Katarína Vajdová, Renáta Smreková, Csilla Mišlanová, Marián Kukan, Martina Lutterová – 30 December 2003 – With increasing time of cold preservation, levels of high‐energy nucleotides in the liver are reducing. The authors hypothesized that cold preservation sensitizes hepatocyte function to ischemic injury occurring during graft rewarming and that the injury can be prevented by short‐term reperfusion. Rat livers were cold‐preserved in University of Wisconsin solution for 0 to 18 hours and ischemically rewarmed for 0 to 45 minutes to simulate the implantation stage of transplantation.

Toshiki Sakamoto, Tsukasa Ezure, John Lunz, Noriko Murase, Hirokazu Tsuji, John J. Fung, Anthony J. Demetris – 30 December 2003 – Liver hematopoietic progenitor cells (LHPC) and liver epithelial progenitor cells (LEPC) share a remarkable number of growth and differentiation‐controlling receptor‐ligand signaling systems. These likely account for the ability of the liver to support hematopoiesis in fetal life, and possibly for suggestions that LHPC can differentiate into hepatocytes.