Qiao‐yi Chen, Merrill J. Rowley, Ian R. Mackay – 30 December 2003 – Anti‐idiotypic antibodies may regulate the immune system and influence pathogenic autoimmunity. We investigated idiotype–anti‐idiotype interactions in sera of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), normal subjects and animals immunized with pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) or its derivatives. IgG autoantibody to the E2 subunit of PDC (PDC‐E2) was derived by affinity‐purification from sera of 12 patients with PBC, and F(ab)2 was prepared (anti–PDC‐E2‐F[ab]2).

Yae Kanai, Ai‐Min Hui, Lin Sun, Saori Ushijima, Michiie Sakamoto, Hitoshi Tsuda, Setsuo Hirohashi – 30 December 2003 – To examine the significance of aberrant DNA methylation in hepatocarcinogenesis, the DNA methylation status at the D17S5 locus and mRNA expression of a candidate tumor suppressor gene, HIC‐1(hypermethylated‐in‐cancer), which was identified at the D17S5 locus, in primary hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and their corresponding noncancerous liver tissues were assessed.

Nicolaos C. Tassopoulos, Riccardo Volpes, Giuseppe Pastore, Jenny Heathcote, Maria Buti, Robert D. Goldin, Sasha Hawley, Judy Barber, Lynn Condreay, D. Fraser Gray – 30 December 2003 – This placebo controlled, double‐blind study evaluated the efficacy and safety of lamivudine in patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐negative/hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA–positive chronic hepatitis B. Patients were randomized to receive 100 mg lamivudine orally once daily for 52 weeks (n = 60) or placebo for 26 weeks (n = 65). Patients who were HBV DNA positive at week 24 were withdrawn at week 26.

Patrizia Pontisso, Giorgio Bellati, Maurizia Brunetto, Liliana Chemello, Guido Colloredo, Rosellina Di Stefano, Massimo Nicoletti, Maria Grazia Rumi, Maria Grazia Ruvoletto, Roberta Soffredini, Lilli Mario Valenza, Giuseppe Colucci – 30 December 2003 – Fluctuations of hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐RNA serum levels were monitored in a multicenter study in 76 chronic HCV carriers who had been followed longitudinally without receiving antiviral therapy to assess their relation with the course of liver disease activity.

Takumi Kawaguchi, Shotaro Sakisaka, Michio Sata, Michio Mori, Kyuichi Tanikawa – 30 December 2003 – Hepatocyte tight junctions (TJs), the only intercellular barrier between the sinusoidal and the canalicular spaces, play a key role in bile formation. Although hepatocyte TJs are impaired in cholestasis, attempts to localize the precise site of hepatocyte TJ damage by freeze‐fracture electron microscopy have produced limited information. Recently, several TJ‐associated proteins like ZO‐1 and 7H6 have been identified and characterized.

J. Paul Schofield, J. Paul Schofield, Timothy M. Cox, C. Thomas Caskey, Maki Wakamiya – 30 December 2003 – Ammonia liberated during amino acid catabolism in mammals is highly neurotoxic and is detoxified by the five enzymes of the urea cycle that are expressed within the liver. Inborn errors of each of the urea cycle enzymes occur in humans. Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I (CPSase I; EC 6.3.4.16) is located within the inner mitochondrial matrix and catalyzes the initial rate‐limiting step of the urea cycle.

Lionel Frangeul, Pascale Cresta, Michele Perrin, Françoise Lunel, Pierre Opolon, Henri Agut, Jean‐Marie Huraux – 30 December 2003 – A part of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) amino acid sequence, designated as an interferon (IFN)‐sensitive determining region (ISDR), has been shown to be correlated with a response to IFN in Japanese patients. We have shown previously that the presence of NS5A antibodies (Abs) detected by the INNOLIA test (IL‐NS5A Ab) is also correlated with a response to IFN.

Mark G. Swain, Paul Beck, Kevin Rioux, Tai Le – 30 December 2003 – “Sickness behaviors” such as lethargy, fatigue, and malaise occur commonly in patients with cholestatic liver diseases and contribute significantly to the morbidity associated with these diseases. However, the cause of these symptoms is unknown. Interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) released within the brain has been implicated in the genesis of a number of “sickness behaviors,” including malaise and lethargy.

Joël Fort, Frédéric Oberti, Christophe Pilette, Nary Veal, Yves Gallois, Olivier Douay, Marie Christine Rousselet, Jean Rosenbaum, Paul Calès – 30 December 2003 – The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the early and chronic administration of octreotide in the prevention of hepatic fibrosis and portal hypertension (PHT). Two experimental models of liver fibrosis caused by bile duct ligation (BDL) or CCl4 were divided into 4 rat groups: sham, placebo, and octreotide (10 and 100 μg/kg twice daily, subcutaneously).

Hitoshi Yoshiji, Shigeki Kuriyama, Junichi Yoshii, Masaharu Yamazaki, Masaji Kikukawa, Hirohisa Tsujinoue, Toshiya Nakatani, Hiroshi Fukui – 30 December 2003 – Angiogenesis is essential for the development of a solid tumor, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC is a well‐known hypervascular tumor. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the most potent angiogenic factors. Its role has not been clarified in vivo in HCC development.