Tsutomu Masaki, Masato Okada, Yasushi Shiratori, William Rengifo, Kozou Matsumoto, Shinn Maeda, Naoya Kato, Fumihiko Kanai, Yutaka Komatsu, Mikio Nishioka, Masao Omata – 30 December 2003 – For the related Src kinases, a close correlation exists between elevated tyrosine kinase activity and cell transformation. However, the involvement of pp60c‐src in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains obscure. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether pp60c‐src tyrosine kinase activity is elevated in HCC.

Hiroshi Mitsui, Toshiyuki Maruyama, Satoshi Kimura, Yoh Takuwa – 30 December 2003 – Recently identified c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase are activated by stimuli of various cellular stresses, cytokines, and growth factors. Strong activation of JNK was reported in the regenerating liver, implicating JNK in growth stimulation of hepatocytes. However, it is not known which factors regulate JNK activity in liver cells.

Yaron Ilan, Bernhard Sauter, Namita Roy Chowdhury, Bhoompally V. Reddy, Narsing R. Thummala, Gustavo Droguett, Anne Davidson, Michael Ott, Marshall S. Horwitz, Jayanta Roy Chowdhury – 30 December 2003 – Exposure to wild‐type adenoviruses is common in humans and results in immune response against adenoviruses. The pre‐existing antibodies and a strong secondary humoral and cellular immune response would interfere with gene transfer using recombinant adenoviral vectors.

Rong‐Nan Chien, Yun‐Fan Liaw, Tse‐Ching Chen, Chau‐Ting Yeh, I.‐Shyan Sheen – 30 December 2003 – Thymosin α1 (Tα) is an immune modifier that has been shown in a pilot study to be effective for chronic hepatitis B; this requires confirmation.

Lawrence Serfaty, Hugues Aumaître, Olivier Chazouillères, Anne‐Marie Bonnand, Olivier Rosmorduc, Renée E. Poupon, Raoul Poupon – 30 December 2003 – The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of decompensation (ascites, jaundice, variceal bleeding, and encephalopathy), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and death or liver transplantation in patients with compensated hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐related cirrhosis, taking into account the viral genotype and interferon (IFN) therapy.

Adolfo Francesco Attili, Emanuele Scafato, Roberto Marchioli, Rosa Maria Marfisi, Davide Festi, The MICOL Group – 30 December 2003 – Fifteen thousand nine hundred ten men and 13,674 women (age, 30‐69 years) were enrolled in an epidemiological survey of the general population, between December 1984 and April 1987. Each participant was submitted to ultrasonography (US) of the gallbladder and completed a food‐frequency questionnaire, covering 38 food items. A common portion size was identified and subjects were asked how often each item was consumed.

Karel J. Van Erpecum, Gerard P. Van Berge‐Henegouwen, Erik R.M. Eckhardt, Piero Portincasa, Bert J.M. Van De Heijning, Geesje M. Dallinga‐Thie, Albert K. Groen – 30 December 2003 – Patients with multiple cholesterol gallstones are at increased risk of recurrence after nonsurgical therapy, possibly because of fast biliary cholesterol crystallization. Serum apolipoprotein E4 (apo E4) is a risk factor for primary cholesterol gallstone formation as well as recurrence.

W. Ray Kim, Russell H. Wiesner, Terry M. Therneau, John J. Poterucha, Michael K. Porayko, Roger W. Evans, Goran B. Klintmalm, Jeffrey S. Crippin, Ruud A. Krom, E. Rolland Dickson – 30 December 2003 – In 1989, we reported on the efficacy of liver transplantation in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) by demonstrating that the actual patient survival following transplantation was significantly better than without transplantation as predicted by a mathematical survival model (“Mayo natural history model”).

Gaetano Cairo, Lorenza Tacchini, Antonello Pietrangelo – 30 December 2003 – Transferrin receptor (TfR) and ferritin, key proteins of cellular iron metabolism, are coordinately and divergently controlled by cytoplasmic proteins (iron regulatory proteins, IRP‐1 and IRP‐2) that bind to conserved mRNA motifs called iron‐responsive elements (IRE). IRP, in response to specific stimuli (low iron levels, growth and stress signals) are activated and prevent TfR mRNA degradation and ferritin mRNA translation by hindering ferritin mRNA binding to polysomes.

Bud C. Tennant, Betty H. Baldwin, Lou Ann Graham, Mary A. Ascenzi, William E. Hornbuckle, Peter H. Rowland, Ilia A. Tochkov, Amy E. Yeager, Hollis N. Erb, Joseph M. Colacino, Carlos Lopez, Jeffery A. Engelhardt, Ronald R. Bowsher, Frank C. Richardson, William Lewis, Paul J. Cote, Brent E. Korba, John L. Gerin – 30 December 2003 – Woodchucks were used to study the antiviral activity and toxicity of fialuridine (FIAU; 1,‐2′deoxy‐2′fluoro‐1‐β‐d‐arabinofuranosyl‐5‐iodo‐uracil).