Flemming Bendtsen, Niels Juel Christensen, Thorkild I. A. Sørensen, Jens H. Henriksen – 1 August 1991 – Circulating catecholamines are increased in cirrhosis with portal hypertension, and increase further after propranolol. In 23 cirrhotic patients, plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine were determined in an artery, the azygos vein, the right renal vein and a hepatic vein before and after an oral 80‐mg dose of propranolol.

Faleh Z. Al‐Faleh, E. Ayobanji Ayoola, Mohammed Al‐Jeffry, Rashed Al‐Rashed, Mohammed Al‐Mofarreh, Mohammed Arif, Sami Ramia, Mohammed Al‐Karawi, Mohammed Al‐Shabrawy – 1 August 1991 – In a population‐based survey, 39 (0.90%) of 4,496 Saudi Arabian children (ages 1 to 10) were positive for antibody to hepatitis C virus. No significant difference was seen between the prevalence rate in males (0.9%) and females (0.8%) or between urban (0.7%) and rural dwellers (1.0%). A significant variation of rates (0% to 5.7%) was seen from one region to another.

1 August 1991

Gordon Baskin – 1 August 1991 – Molecular mechanisms that mediate signal transduction by growth inhibitory cytokines are poorly understood. Type I (α and β) interferons (IFNs) are potent growth inhibitory cytokines whose biological activities depend on induced changes in gene expression. IFN‐α induced transient activation of phospholipase A2 in 3T3 fibroblasts and rapid hydrolysis of [3H]‐arachidonic acid (AA) from prelabeled phospholipid pools.

Peter Nagy, Zsuzsa Schaff, Károly Lapis – 1 August 1991 – Transforming growth factor‐β1 was localized by means of immunohistochemical reaction in liver biopsy specimens taken from patients having different chronic liver diseases with extending fibrosis. Two polyclonal antibodies that were produced in rabbits were directed against the amino terminal of transforming growth factor‐β1.

J. Eileen Hay, Keith D. Lindor, Russell H. Wiesner, E. Rolland Dickson, Ruud A. F. Krom, Nicholas F. Larusso – 1 August 1991 – The incidence and severity of osteopenic bone disease in primary sclerosing cholangitis is poorly defined. Clinical, biochemical and radiographic assessment and bone mineral density measurements of the lumbar spine were carried out in two groups of patients. Group 1 consisted of 30 patients with advanced primary sclerosing cholangitis; group 2 consisted of 18 patients with newly diagnosed primary sclerosing cholangitis. Only one patient had bone pain.

Carol R. Gardner, Arthur J. Wasserman, Debra L. Laskin – 1 August 1991 – Macrophage‐mediated cytotoxicity toward tumor cells usually involves extracellular lysis of the targets. In this study, we report that liver macrophages from rats treated with lipopolysaccharide (5 mg/kg, intravenous) also kill certain tumor cell targets by phagocytosis. Liver macrophages were coincubated with P815 mouse mastocytoma cells for 24 to 72 hr at an effector/target ratio of 10:1. Macrophage phagocytosis was characterized by flow cytometry and by light and electron microscopy.

Jeffrey D. Laskin, Anthea Dokidis, Carol R. Gardner, Debra L. Laskin – 1 August 1991 – Production of extracellular matrix proteins — in particular, the proteoglycans‐by macrophages is important in many of their functions, including cell‐cell recognition, adhesion and phagocytosis. In this study, we characterized changes in sulfated proteoglycan production by hepatic macrophages following in vivo activation with lipopolysaccharide. We found that both resident Kupffer cells and liver macrophages from lipopolysaccharide‐treated rats incorporated [35S]sulfate into proteoglycans.

Masayoshi Yamauchi, Hisato Nakajima, Mitsuru Ohata, Junnichi Hirakawa, Yuji Mizuhara, Masao Nakahara, Kazuo Kimura, Kiyoshi Fujisawa, Haruo Kameda – 1 August 1991 – Pooled sera collected from cirrhotic patients was fractionated by affinity chromatography with a fibronectin receptor monoclonal antibody against the β‐subunit of fibronectin receptor. Eluates were assayed using Western immunoblotting.

Angelo Gatta, Paolo Angeli, Lorenza Caregaro, Francesca Menon, David Sacerdoti, Carlo Merkel – 1 August 1991 – It has been hypothesized that the magnitude of proximal sodium reabsorption affects the response to aldosterone antagonists in nonazotemic cirrhotic patients with ascites. To verify this hypothesis, we evaluated intrarenal sodium handling by lithium clearance in 51 nonazotemic ascitic cirrhotic patients and in 23 controls who were maintained on the same low‐sodium diet (80 mmol/day).