Patricia E. Ganey, Barbara Keller, Steven N. Lichtman, John J. Lemasters, Ronald G. Thurman – 1 March 1991 – A new method was developed to monitor Kupffer cell phagocytosis continuously in perfused liver using a fluorescent probe, rhodamine‐gelatin, synthesized from gelatin and rhodamine isothiocyanate. In perfused rat liver, phagocytosis by Kupffer cells was assessed both by uptake of the dye and from fluorescence measured from the liver surface. Uptake of rhodamine‐gelatin and surface fluorescence (520 → 585 nm) increased as perfusate concentrations of rhodamine‐gelatin were elevated.

1 February 1991

Andres T. Blei – 1 February 1991

Tilo Andus, Joachim Bauer, Wolfgang Gerok – 1 February 1991

Zoltan Spolarics, Abraham P. Bautista, John J. Spitzer – 1 February 1991 – This study elucidates the in vivo metabolic response of different liver cells after a single phagocytic challenge. In vivo glucose uptake of different tissues and isolated liver cells was determined by a sequential double labeling version of the 2‐deoxyglucose technique. After latex administration, glucose uptake more than doubled in the liver, increased by about 50% in the spleen and lung and was not changed in muscle and testis.

Susan L. Saidman, Rene J. Duquesnoy, Adriana Zeevi, John J. Fung, Thomas E. Starzl, A. Jake Demetris – 1 February 1991 – We have developed an in vitro system to study the interactions between biliary epithelium and lymphocytes using cultured human biliary epithelial cells. No class II antigens were detected by immunoperoxidase staining of the normal biliary epithelial cells, but alloactivated lymphocyte culture supernatants were able to induce class II expression. The activity of the supernatants was blocked with an anti‐γ‐interferon monoclonal antibody.

Andrea Crosignani, Pier Maria Battezzati, Kenneth D. R. Setchell, Maurizia Camisasca, Emanuela Bertolini, Aldo Roda, Massimo Zuin, Mauro Podda – 1 February 1991 – The effect of ursodeoxycholic acid administration on liver function tests and on bile acid metabolism was investigated in 18 patients with chronic active hepatitis. Three different doses of ursodeoxycholic acid—250 mg, 500 mg and 750 mg—were administered daily to each patient for consecutive 2‐mo periods. The order of doses was randomly assigned according to a replicated Latin‐square design.

Koji Yabu, Vijay S. Warty, Hisashi Shinozuka – 1 February 1991 – Cyclosporine, a powerful immunosuppressant, has been used successfully for organ transplantation. Its efficacy on liver transplants of patients with primary hepatic tumors remains controversial because of a high rate of recurrence of the original tumors in the transplanted livers. In this study, we experimentally tested whether cyclosporine exerts any effects on the growth of carcinogen‐initiated liver cells using the short‐term assays of rat liver carcinogenesis.

Alexander Khoruts, Laura Stahnke, Craig J. McClain, George Logan, John I. Allen – 1 February 1991 – Although altered cytokine homeostasis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease, the relationship between cytokines and metabolic consequences of alcoholic liver disease is unknown. We, therefore, sought to correlate circulating concentrations of tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐1 and interleukin‐6 to clinical and biochemical parameters of liver disease in chronic alcoholic patients.

Barbara Stoll, Sabine McNelly, Hans‐Peter Buscher, Dieter Häussinger – 1 February 1991 – [3H]glutamate, [3H]α‐ketoglutarate or [3H]aspartate was injected in physiological concentrations into antegrade (from portal to hepatic vein) or retrograde (from hepatic to portal vein) perfused rat liver, and the tissue distribution of radioactivity was studied by histoautoradiography.