K Kurokohchi, M Carrington, D L Mann, T B Simonis, M A Alexander‐Miller, S M Feinstone, T Akatsuka, J A Berzofsky – 1 May 1996 – The expression of the HLA class I molecules on the cell surface was investigated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines using complement‐mediated cytotoxicity (CMC) and flow cytometric analysis. Although HLA‐A antigens were detected by CMC in all cell lines tested, HLA‐B and ‐C antigens were not detectable in six of seven HCC cell lines. These results were also confirmed by flow cytometric analysis focusing on HLA‐Bw4 and Bw6 public antigens.

G S Baroni, L D'Ambrosio, P Curto, A Casini, R Mancini, A M Jezequel, A Benedetti – 1 May 1996 – Interferon gamma (IFN‐γ) inhibits in vitro the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC), the primary extracellular matrix‐producing cells in liver fibrosis. This study was undertaken to determine in vivo the effect of IFN‐γ in the rat model of liver fibrosis induced by dimethylnitrosamine (DMN), where HSC activation represents an early response to cell injury. Rats were killed after 1 or 3 weeks of treatment with DMN, IFN‐γ, DMN + IFN‐γ, or saline.

J Heathcote – 1 May 1996

P K Yuet, D Blankschtein, J M Donovan – 1 April 1996 – To accurately determine the cholesterol (Ch) distribution between mixed micelles and vesicles in lithogenic bile, both ultracentrifugation and gel chromatography with the correct intermixed micellar/vesicular bile salt concentration (IMC) have been proposed. We have systematically compared both separation techniques with physiological model biles to ascertain their quantitative separation ability.

P H McGuinness, G A Bishop, D M Painter, R Chan, G W McCaughan – 1 April 1996 – The balance between a direct cytopathic effect by hepatitis C virus (HCV) and immune‐mediated injury remains unclear. This report aims to test the following hypotheses: (1) that intrahepatic HCV load would correlate with the degree of liver injury; (2) that interferon alfa (IFN‐α) would decrease intrahepatic HCV‐RNA levels. Liver tissues (n = 56) were obtained from 47 patients with chronic HCV (9 before and after IFN‐α therapy).

G V Gregorio, P Jara, L Hierro, C Diaz, A de la Vega, A Vegnente, R Iorio, F Bortolotti, C Crivellaro, L Zancan, H Daniels, B Portmann, G Mieli‐Vergani – 1 April 1996 – The comparative efficacy of prednisolone followed by interferon alfa (IFN‐α) versus IFN‐α alone in enhancing the rate of antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (anti‐HBe) seroconversion has not been evaluated in a large cohort of white children.

K Sone, M Maeda, K Wakabayashi, N Takeichi, M Mori, T Sugimura, M Nagao – 1 April 1996 – Trientine dihydrochloride (trientine) is an alternative medicinal copper chelating agent for patients with Wilson's disease of penicillamine intolerance. We examined the effects of trientine on the spontaneous development of hepatitis and hepatic tumors, by its short‐ term and long‐term administration to Long‐Evans cinnamon (LEC) rats with an accumulation of copper in the liver, as animal models of Wilson's disease.

J G Wagner, P E Ganey, R A Roth – 1 April 1996 – Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNS) have been implicated as cellular mediators of hepatic injury in models of inflammation in vivo. In vitro, hepatocyte killing by activated PMNs is mediated in part by proteases, but the role of nitric oxide is unknown. NO is produced by PMNs and hepatocytes and can act either to damage or protect in various models of toxicity. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that NO is important in PMN‐mediated hepatocyte killing in vitro.

P Portincasa, K J van Erpecum, A Jansen, W Renooij, M Gadellaa, G P van Berge‐Henegouwen – 1 April 1996 – Besides classical plate‐like cholesterol monohydrate crystals, a variety of crystal shapes have recently been described in model biles but their relevance for human gallstone formation is unknown. We therefore studied crystallization behavior in gallbladder bile from cholesterol stone patients (54 untreated, 13 ursodeoxycholate‐treated) and 6 pigment stone patients.

C L Booth, G M Pollack, K L Brouwer – 1 April 1996 – Previous work in this laboratory has suggested that the nonlinear disposition of valproic acid (VPA) in the rat may be due to nonlinear distribution of VPA into the liver. The present study was undertaken to elucidate further the hepatobiliary disposition of VPA. VPA (0.1‐2 mmol/L) was incubated with isolated rat hepatocytes in vitro. Uptake of [3H]‐VPA was linear from 10 to 50 seconds, with minimal (<7 percent) biotransformation.