K R Huber, C Sebesta, K Bauer – 1 September 1996 – The causal agent of most posttransfusion non‐A and non‐B hepatitis infections was characterized in 1989 by molecular biological techniques as a positive‐stranded, enveloped RNA virus, designated hepatitis C virus (HCV). Only since 1990 has it been possible to screen for an infection with antibody tests or direct amplification assays for the nucleic acid (i.e., reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction [PCR]). However, these nucleic acid based tests are time consuming and rather expensive.

Erck B. Edwards, William P. Boyd – 1 September 1996

Fin Stolze Larsen, Ellen Ejlersen, Jens Otto Clemmesen, Preben Kirkegaard, Bent Adel Hansen – 1 September 1996 – Under normal conditions cerebral blood flow (CBF) is regulated to secure oxidative brain metabolism, but in patients with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF), insufficient CBF has been suggested to precede cerebral edema and intracranial hypertension. In order to determine if insufficient CBF and hypoxia are present in patients with FHF we increased the mean arterial pressure and measured cerebral metabolism.

1 September 1996

G M Thiele, J A Miller, L W Klassen, D J Tuma – 1 September 1996 – Previous reports have shown that long‐term ethanol administration alters receptor‐mediated endocytosis (RME) of a variety of macromolecules by liver endothelial cells (LEC). Acetaldehyde is the major metabolic product of ethanol metabolism and has been shown to bind to proteins to form adducts. In this study, the level of protein modification by acetaldehyde necessary for the uptake and degradation of acetaldehyde‐modified proteins by LEC was investigated.

Q X Yuan, N Marceau, B A French, P Fu, S W French – 1 September 1996 – The aim of this study was to determine the various factors that are involved in the induction of Mallory body (MB) formation. A model was developed where MB formation was induced by refeeding either of the drugs griseofulvin or diethyl 1,4‐dihydro‐1,4,6‐trimethyl‐3,5‐ pyridinedicarboxylate (DDC). Mice were fed the drugs for 5 months, followed by withdrawal of the drugs for 1 month (drug‐primed livers). The drugs were refed for 1,3,5,7, or 11 days.

L S Miller, T D Schiano, A Adrain, M Cassidy, J Liu, H Ter, S V Bellary, M A Dabezies, M Black – 1 September 1996 – High‐resolution endoluminal sonography (HRES) was used to image and measure esophageal varices in control subjects and patients with portal hypertension and compared with endoscopic findings. Nine control patients and 68 patients with known cirrhosis or noncirrhotic portal hypertension underwent videotaped HRES and videotaped esophagoscopy (EGD).

M Sasaki, Y Nakanuma – 1 September 1996 – MUC1 apomucin is proposed as an “oncofetal” antigen in the biliary system. We surveyed the biliary expression of MUC1 apomucin and mature MUC1 mucin (highly‐glycosylated MUC1 apomucin) in hepatic cysts, biliary microhamartomas, and intrahepatic bile ducts in various cystic liver diseases and clarified the relationship between the expression of these mucins and cystogenesis in the liver. The expression of MUC1 apomucin and mature MUC1 mucin were detected immunohistochemically using the monoclonal antibodies DF3 and SM3, and HMFG1, respectively.

M Lindh, P Horal, A P Dhillon, Y Furuta, G Norkrans – 1 September 1996 – Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) is considered to be a major target for the immune response in chronic hepatitis B. The G → A mutation at nucleotide 1896 may mediate viral escape by creating a TAG stop codon in the precore region, thus preventing HBeAg production. This mutation frequently evolves during HBe seroconversion if thymine, but rarely if cytosine, is present in position 1858.

E Hildt, S Urban, C Eckerskorn, P H Hofschneider – 1 September 1996 – Carboxy‐terminally truncated hepatitis B virus (HBV) middle surface proteins (MHBst) show a transcriptional activator function. Two different subtypes of MHBst activators can be distinguished: an ER‐localized type, represented here by MHBst76 (truncated at amino acid 76), and a cytosol‐localized type, represented here by MHBst63.