S Parkkila, A Parkkila, T Juvonen, A Waheed, W S Sly, J Saarnio, K Kaunisto, S Kellokumpu, H Rajaniemi – 1 November 1996 – Alkaline hepatic bile is acidified in the gallbladder to prevent calcium precipitation and gallstone formation. Because membrane‐bound carbonic anhydrase (CA) isoenzyme IV participates with cytoplasmic CA II in the acidification of urine in the kidney, we studied its expression in different regions of the human biliary tract using immunohistochemical techniques.

C Chan, K DasGupta, A L Baker – 1 November 1996 – After liver transplantation, long‐term cyclosporin A (CsA) administration is commonly complicated by renal insufficiency and other side effects. To manage these problems, 1.5 to 2.0 mg · kg‐1 · day‐1 of azathioprine for at least 6 weeks was prescribed; CsA was then discontinued or reduced to < or = 2.5 mg · kg‐1 · day‐1 for several months. The dose of prednisone was kept constant.

W M Frederiks, K S Bosch – 1 November 1996 – Activity of xanthine oxidoreductase (total xanthine dehydrogenase plus xanthine oxidase) and xanthine oxidase was determined cytophotometrically in periportal and pericentral areas of livers of rats under various (patho)physiological conditions that are known to affect the content of reduced glutathione. For this purpose, rats were either normally fed or fasted for 24 hours, fasted for 24 hours, and treated with diethylmaleate that depleted glutathione or treated by in vivo ischemia for 2 hours in the livers.

H Leyland, J Gentry, M J Arthur, R C Benyon – 1 November 1996 – Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) generates plasmin, a process inhibited by plasminogen‐activator inhibitor (PAI)‐1 and localized to the cell surface by binding of uPA to a specific receptor. Plasmin degrades extracellular matrix (ECM) both directly and by activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Because stellate cells play a central role in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis both via production of ECM proteins and through secretion of MMPs, their contribution to plasmin generation was assessed.

J Maltby, S Wright, G Bird, N Sheron – 1 November 1996 – Alcoholic hepatitis is characterized by parenchymal neutrophil infiltration. Hepatic synthesis of the neutrophil chemokine interleukin‐8 (IL‐8) is highly elevated in alcoholic hepatitis and levels correlate with the degree of neutrophil infiltration. The aim of this study was to further determine the spectrum of synthesis of chemokines in liver tissue from patients with alcoholic liver disease and a range of disease control subjects.

R E Poupon, P M Huet, R Poupon, A Bonnand, J T Van Nhieu, E S Zafrani – 1 November 1996 – The efficacy of colchicine combined with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and UDCA alone in the treatment of patients with nonadvanced primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) was evaluated in a 2‐year controlled study. Seventy‐four patients with PBC who had been treated previously with UDCA (at least 8 months) but still had abnormal liver test results, especially elevated alkaline phosphatase activity, were randomized to be administered colchicine (1 mg/d, 5 days per week) (n = 37) or a placebo (n = 37).

Jeffry A. Lowell, Sandy Burgess, Surendra Shenoy, John A. Curci, Marion Peters, Todd K. Howard – 1 November 1996

S. H. Caldwell, E. E. De Lange, M. J. Gaffey, M. Sue, J. C. Boyd, R. C. Dickson, C. Driscoll, W. C. Stevenson, M. B. Ishitani, C. McCullough, T. L. Pruett – 1 November 1996 – Measurement of liver volume in patients with advanced liver disease is used to gauge the appropriate size of donor organs and may have prognostic value. We sought to determine the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in measuring liver volume in 19 adult patients under consideration for liver transplantation. We also correlated the liver volume determination to the clinical severity of disease.

S Gagandeep, S Gupta – 1 November 1996

D Trere, M Derenzini, V Sirri, L Montanaro, W Grigioni, G Faa, G M Columbano, A Columbano – 1 November 1996 – A qualitative and quantitative analysis of silver‐stained nuclear organizer regions (AgNOR) proteins was performed during hepatocarcinogenesis induced in rats initiated by diethylnitrosamine (DENA) using the resistant‐hepatocyte model.