Mindie H. Nguyen, Ruel T. Garcia, Peter W. Simpson, Teresa L. Wright, Emmet B. Keeffe – 30 December 2003 – α‐Fetoprotein (AFP) is frequently used as a diagnostic marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Most available data concerning AFP come from studies of patients with chronic hepatitis B or other chronic liver diseases of mixed etiologies. Limited data concerning the diagnostic value of AFP for hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐related HCC have to date come only from Asian and European studies, and results are conflicting.

Mark S. Sulkowski, David L. Thomas, Shruti H. Mehta, Richard E. Chaisson, Richard D. Moore – 30 December 2003

Albert J. Czaja, Deborah K. Freese – 30 December 2003

Alexandra Henrion‐Caude, Cyril Flamant, Michel Roussey, Chantal Housset, Antoine Flahault, Anthony A. Fryer, Katarina Chadelat, Richard C. Strange, Annick Clement – 30 December 2003 – Liver disease in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is inconstant and has not yet been clearly related to any specific risk factor.

Dirk Graf, Anna Kordelia Kurz, Roland Reinehr, Richard Fischer, Gerald Kircheis, Dieter Häussinger – 30 December 2003 – Bile acid–induced apoptosis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cholestatic liver disease, and its prevention is of therapeutic interest. The effects of betaine were studied on taurolithocholate 3‐sulfate (TLCS) and glycochenodeoxycholate (GCDC)‐induced apoptosis in rat hepatocytes in vitro and in vivo.

Gene D. LeSage, Luca Marucci, Domenico Alvaro, Shannon S. Glaser, Antonio Benedetti, Marco Marzioni, Tushar Patel, Heather Francis, Jo Lynne Phinizy, Gianfranco Alpini – 30 December 2003 – Insulin stimulates canalicular bile flow by interaction with hepatocytes. Insulin regulates the function of a number of epithelia through activation and membrane translocation of Ca2+‐dependent PKC isoforms. No information exists regarding insulin regulation of ductal bile secretion.

Daniele Prati, Paolo Rebulla, Alberto Zanella, Mirella Fraquelli, Dario Conte – 30 December 2003

Matthes Huesker, Yvonne Folmer, Michaela Schneider, Christine Fulda, Hubert E. Blum, Peter Hafkemeyer – 30 December 2003 – Human cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), are characterized by a high degree of drug resistance. The multidrug resistance (MDR) transporters MDR1‐P‐glycoprotein and MRP2 (multidrug‐associated protein 2) are expressed in almost 50% of human cancers, including HCCs. In this study, we analyzed the effect of anti‐MDR1 ribozymes, especially AFP promoter‐driven anti‐MDR1 ribozymes, to specifically chemosensitize HCC cells.

Jay H. Hoofnagle – 30 December 2003 – The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small enveloped RNA virus belonging to the family flaviviridae and genus hepacivirus. The HCV RNA genome is 9,600 nucleotides in length and encodes a single polyprotein that is post‐translationally cleaved into 10 polypeptides including t3 structural (C, E1, and E2) and multiple nonstructural proteins ([NS] NS2 to NS5). The NS proteins include enzymes necessary for protein processing (proteases) and viral replication (RNA polymerase).

Maureen M. J. Guichelaar, Michael Malinchoc, Jean Sibonga, Bart L. Clarke, J. Eileen Hay – 30 December 2003 – Despite the clinical importance of cholestatic osteopenia, little is known about its pathophysiologic mechanism. By tetracycline‐labeled histomorphometric analysis of bone biopsies taken at the time of liver transplantation, we prospectively evaluated bone resorption and formation in 50 consecutive patients with advanced primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).