O Fonia, R Weizman, R Coleman, E Kaganovskaya, M Gavish – 1 September 1996 – There is evidence to suggest that peripheral‐type benzodiazepine receptors (PBR) are involved in porphyrin transport during erythroid differentiation, and it is possible that these receptors have an important role in heme biosynthesis. We examined the biochemical and ultrastructural alterations in rat liver following experimentally induced acute hepatic porphyria, as well as the effects of the administration of a selective PBR ligand, PK 11195.

R Ling, D Mutimer, M Ahmed, E H Boxall, E Elias, G M Dusheiko, T J Harrison – 1 September 1996 – We describe mutations in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase gene in viruses which reactivated in two patients during therapy with ‐2′‐deoxy‐ 3′‐thiacytidine, or lamivudine (3TC), and following orthotopic liver transplantation for chronic hepatitis B.

Andrew L. Mason, Robert P. Perrillo – 1 September 1996

P Bedossa, T Poynard – 1 August 1996 – Histological activity reflects the global assessment of basic necroinflammatory lesions and is a criterion of major importance in chronic hepatitis C. The aim of this study was to propose and test the accuracy of a simple algorithm that generates a single activity score based on basic pathological features. A panel of 10 pathologists reviewed 363 chronic hepatitis C liver biopsies and graded the activity of hepatitis according to their own experience (reference activity).

S Arii, M Mise, T Harada, M Furutani, S Ishigami, M Niwano, M Mizumoto, M Fukumoto, M Imamura – 1 August 1996 – The prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) depends mainly on the clinicopathological characteristic regarding invasion and metastasis. In addition, another distinguishing feature of HCC is the high incidence of concomitant liver cirrhosis, in which the extracellular matrix proliferates markedly.

M Tapner, C Liddle, B Goodwin, J George, G C Farrell – 1 August 1996 – Administration of interferons of both the γ and alfa/β classes down‐regulates hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes when administered to humans or rats. In male rats, interferons decrease expression of CYP3A2 at a pretranslational level, but because interferons also release other cytokines in vivo, it is unclear whether this is a direct effect on hepatocytes. We therefore examined the effects of rat recombinant interferon γ (IFN‐γ) on CYP3A2, other 3A genes, and 2C11 in stable primary cultures of male rat hepatocytes.

Y Iimuro, K Ikejima, M L Rose, B U Bradford, R G Thurman – 1 August 1996 – It has been shown recently that inactivation of Kupffer cells prevents free radical formation and early alcohol‐induced liver injury, and that hypoxia subsequent to a hypermetabolic state caused by activated Kupffer cells is likely involved in the mechanism. Calcium is essential for the activation of Kupffer cells, which contain L‐type voltage‐dependent Ca2+ channels.

A Honda, S Shefer, G Salen, G Xu, A K Batta, G S Tint, M Honda, T C Chen, M F Holick – 1 August 1996 – The Smith‐Lemli‐Opitz syndrome is a common inherited birth disorder caused by markedly reduced 7‐dehydrocholesterol δ7‐reductase activity, the final enzyme in the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway. BM 15.766 (4‐[2‐[1‐(4‐chlorocinnamyl)piperazin‐4‐yl]ethyl]‐benzoic acid) inhibits 7‐dehydrocholesterol delta 7‐reductase activity, reduces plasma cholesterol levels, and increases 7‐dehydrocholesterol levels to reproduce the biochemical abnormalities of the syndrome in rats.

S Sakisaka, K Gondo, M Yoshitake, M Harada, M Sata, K Kobayashi, K Tanikawa – 1 August 1996 – Immunoglobulin A (IgA) in bile plays an important role in preventing the biliary tract from infection. In the present study, to clarify the functional differences between hepatocytes and biliary epithelial cells (BEC) in handling polymeric IgA2 (pIgA2), the major and important IgA in bile, we have determined in different species the binding characteristics of 125I‐labeled pIgA2 to tissue sections of human, rat, and guinea pig livers.

G Xu, G Salen, M Lea, G S Tint, L B Nguyen, A K Batta, T S Chen, S Shefer – 1 August 1996 – The conversion of 7‐dehydrocholesterol to cholesterol is the last reaction in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway catalyzed by the microsomal enzyme, 7‐dehydrocholesterol‐delta 7‐reductase. We studied whether malignant tumor growth that depends on cholesterol could be slowed by inhibiting late cholesterol biosynthesis.