Experiments in transgenic mice show that hepatocytes are the source for postnatal liver growth and do not stream

Susan Kennedy, Steve Rettinger, M. Wayne Flye, Katherine Parker Ponder – 1 July 1995 – One hypothesis is that postnatal liver growth involves replication of mature hepatocytes, which have an unlimited proliferative potential. An alternative viewpoint is that only certain periportal cells can replicate extensively and that daughter cells stream slowly from the periportal to the pericentral region of the liver. Transgenic mice expressing the beta‐galactosidase (β‐gal) gene from the human α1 antitrypsin promoter were used to examine the proliferative potential of hepatocytes.

Effect of immunosuppressive and antiviral agents on hepatitis B virus replication in vitro

Janine S. McMillan, Tim Shaw, Peter W. Angus, Stephen A. Locarnini – 1 July 1995 – Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA‐transfected hepatoma cells were incubated with the immunosuppressive agents prednisolone, azathioprine, and cyclosporin A (CsA) and the antiviral agents ganciclovir and foscarnet to investigate the effects of these compounds on HBV replication. Prednisolone and azathioprine increased in‐tracellular viral DNA and RNA levels approximately twofold and fourfold, respectively. Treatment with CsA did not alter the levels of viral RNA or DNA.

Brefeldin a inhibits the transcytotic vesicular transport of horseradish peroxidase in intrahepatic bile ductules isolated from rat liver

Antonio Benedetti, Luca Marucci, Cristina Bassotti, Carlo Guidarelli, Anne Marie Jezequel – 1 July 1995 – The fungal metabolite Brefeldin A (BFA) has become a valuable tool to address mechanisms of membrane transport in eukaryotic cells. The aim of the study was to investigate the action of BFA on the endocytic and transcytotic pathways in the biliary epithelium. Intrahepatic bile ductules were isolated from rat liver by collagenase digestion and mechanical separation of biliary tree from parenchymal tissue.

Clonality in hepatocellular carcinoma: Analysis of methylation pattern of polymorphic X–chromosome‐linked phosphoglycerate kinase gene in females

Shigenobu Kawai, Fumio Imazeki, Osamu Yokosuka, Masao Ohto, Shuichiro Shina, Naoya Kato, Masao Omata – 1 July 1995 – Analysis of X‐chromosome inactivation patterns in women has been used to assess the clonality of various tumors. In this report, we analyzed 27 liver tumors in women, including 18 samples obtained by the performance of ultrasonically guided thin‐needle biopsies. By analysis of the heterogeneity of phosphoglycerate kinase gene, 11 of 27 (41%) cases were found to be heterozygous at the gene.

Subscribe to