Yasuharu Ikeda, Mitsuo Shimada, Hirofumi Hasegawa, Tomonobu Gion, Kiyoshi Kajiyama, Ken Shirabe, Katsuhiko Yanaga, Kenji Takenaka, Keizo Sugimachi – 30 December 2003 – We evaluated the effect of diabetes mellitus on the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma after an elective hepatic resection. Of the 342 patients who underwent a hepatic resection between April 1985 and March 1995, 87 (25.4%) were diabetic. Postoperative morbidity was more common among diabetics than among nondiabetics (36.0% vs. 22.5%, P = .0239).

Katsuhisa Noda, Eiji Miyoshi, Naofumi Uozumi, Shusaku Yanagidani, Yoshitaka Ikeda, Cong‐xiao Gao, Kunio Suzuki, Harumasa Yoshihara, Masumi Yoshikawa, Kiyoshi Kawano, Norio Hayashi, Masatsugu Hori, Naoyuki Taniguchi – 30 December 2003 – The α1‐6 fucosylated α‐fetoprotein (AFP) present in serum of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been employed for the differential clinical diagnosis of HCC from chronic liver diseases. The molecular mechanism by which this alteration occurs, however, remains largely unknown.

Manuel J. Rivas, Shigeki Arii, Masaharu Furutani, Tomika Harada, Masaki Mizumoto, Hiroyuki Nishiyama, Jun Fujita, Masayuki Imamura – 30 December 2003 – Macrophage metalloelastase, a member of the human matrix metalloproteinase family, is believed to play an important role in angiostatin generation, which, in experimental studies, has an antiangiogenic function and is a key molecule in tumor dormancy. However, no clinical studies have been reported regarding the correlation between human macrophage metalloelastase (HME) gene expression and angiostatin production.

Marcelo G. Roma, Vicki Stone, Robert Shaw, Roger Coleman – 30 December 2003 – The effect of vasopressin (VP) on canalicular function and hepatocellular morphology, with particular regard to actin cytoskeletal organization and the concomitant plasma membrane bleb formation, was studied in isolated rat hepatocyte couplets.

William E. Delaney, Harriet C. Isom – 30 December 2003 – A novel transient mechanism for studying hepatitis B virus (HBV) gene expression and replication using recombinant HBV baculovirus to deliver the HBV genome to HepG2 cells was generated. In HBV baculovirus infected HepG2 cells, HBV transcripts, and intracellular and secreted HBV antigens are produced; replication occurs as evidenced by the presence of high levels of intracellular replicative intermediates and protected HBV DNA in the medium.

Ian D. Norton, James C. Andrews, Patrick S. Kamath – 30 December 2003

Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, Robert L. CARITHERS, Gregory J. Gores – 30 December 2003

Kaushik Choudhuri, Germana V. Gregorio, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Diego Vergani – 30 December 2003 – We describe two patients with liver kidney microsomal antibody type 1 (LKM1)‐positive autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) with associated endocrinopathies. The first patient had insulin‐dependent diabetes (IDDM), and the second patient had Addison's disease and hypoparathyroidism, and is also positive for islet cell antibodies, without overt diabetes.

Sharon C. Presnell, Michelle J. Hooth, Kristen M. Borchert, William B. Coleman, Joe W. Grisham, Gary J. Smith – 30 December 2003 – A model of spontaneous malignant transformation was used to evaluate the molecular changes that take place in WB‐F344 rat liver epithelial cells during neoplastic transformation and tumorigenesis. A comparison of wild‐type low‐passage WB‐F344 cells to spontaneously transformed tumor cell lines revealed that the majority of the tumor cell lines have an increased capacity for autonomous proliferation and motility when maintained in serum‐free media.

Markus Peck‐Radosavljevic, Martina Wichlas, Johann Pidlich, Paul Sims, Gloria Meng, Johannes Zacherl, Shaily Garg, Christian Datz, Alfred Gangl, Peter Ferenci – 30 December 2003 – Thrombocytopenia is common in advanced‐stage liver disease and is partly caused by inadequate thrombopoietin (TPO) production in the failing liver. Treatment of chronic hepatitis C with interferon alfa (IFN‐α) often induces thrombocytopenia, sometimes even leading to discontinuation of treatment.