Andrew Mason, Mark Wick, Heather White, Robert Perrillo – 1 October 1993 – Hepatitis B virus–specific nucleic acid sequences and proteins have been detected in extrahepatic tissues of acutely and chronically infected patients. However, apart from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and bone marrow cells, little is known about the specific cell types that permit viral replication. In this study, we assessed the extrahepatic tissues of four patients who died with chronic hepatitis B virus infection and two uninfected controls by means of in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical study.

Frank L. Iber – 1 October 1993

Ian R. Mackay – 1 October 1993

P. J. Johnson, Ian G. McFarlane, Convenors, On Behalf of the Panel – 1 October 1993

Kazunori Fukuda, Masamichi Kojiro, Jen‐Fu Chiu – 1 October 1993 – We report here that transforming growth factor‐β1 induces cell death in the Morris hepatoma cell line McA‐RH7777. We assessed the type of cell death induced by transforming growth factor‐β1 in this hepatoma cell line on the basis of morphological and biochemical characteristics. Dying cells, which detached from the cell monolayer, showed morphological characteristics of apoptosis (programmed cell death) such as chromatin condensation, nuclear disintegration and cellular fragmentation into clusters of eosinophilic globules.

Masaharu Sakamoto, Takato Ueno, Motoaki Kin, Hiromasa Ohira, Takuji Torimura, Sadataka Inuzuka, Michio Sata, Kyuichi Tanikawa – 1 October 1993 – The contractile response of cultured Ito cells to endothelin‐1 and substance P was examined. Ito cells were obtained from rat liver by perfusion with collagenase, followed by separation through centrifugal elutriation, and were cultured for 24 hr. The area of the Ito cells was measured after treatment with endothelin‐1 or substance P at various concentrations in the culture medium.

Joshua Schafer, Mark S. D'Almeida, Harvey Weisman, W. Wayne Lautt – 1 October 1993 – Hepatic capacitance responses were compared in sham‐operated and 14‐day bile duct–ligated cats under pentobarbital anesthesia. Both groups were subjected to splenectomy and had the anterior hepatic nerve plexus sectioned to allow stimulation; the posterior plexus was intact. Blood volume compensation for hemorrhage was reduced in the bile duct ligation group compared with the control group: The liver compensated for 20.1% and 10.6% of blood loss, respectively.

1 September 1993

Nora B. Krull, Thomas Zimmermann, Axel M. Gressner – 1 September 1993 – Expression of the proteoglycans biglycan and decorin and of transforming growth factor‐α1 at various stages of liver fibrosis induced experimentally in rats by oral administration of thioacetamide was examined. Using in situ hybridization combined with immunocytochemical staining for cell‐type characteristic markers, we demonstrate spatial and temporal expression patterns specific for each of the genes.

Daniel L. B. Hill, Luis S. Marsano, Craig J. McClain – 1 September 1993 – Patients with alcoholic hepatitis often have hepatic polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration and neutrophilia. Interleukin‐8 is a cytokine that stimulates neutrophil chemotaxis and release of lysosomal enzymes. It is made by several types of cells, including fibroblasts, Kupffer cells and hepatocytes. In this study, serial plasma interleukin‐8 concentrations were measured with enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay in 40 consecutive patients with moderate‐to‐severe alcoholic hepatitis over a 6‐mo period.