Gearld Y. Minuk, Tony Gauthier, Abraham Benarroch – 1 September 1990 – Polyamines have been reported to play an important role in stimulating hepatic regeneration after partial hepatectomy. To determine whether changes in systemic or hepatic polyamine concentrations correlate with the extent of the regenerative stimulus, serum and tissue putrescine, spermidine and spermine concentrations were determined in groups of adult male rats (n = 6 to 12/group) 0, 24, 48, and 72 hr after 30%, 70% or 90% partial hepatectomy.

William G. Rector, Frederick Lewis, Alastair D. Robertson, Gregory T. Everson – 1 September 1990 – The aim of this study was to determine whether liver function and portosystemic shunting are related to renal sodium retention in alcoholic liver disease. Twenty‐three studies were performed; 10 patients had ascites. Liver function was assessed from the plasma elimination rates of antipyrine, caffeine and stable isotopes of cholic acid, the latter administered both orally [2,2,4,4‐2H] and intravenously [24‐13C].

1 August 1990

Rolando Hernández‐muñoz, Mauricio Díaz‐muñoz, Jorge Suárez, Victoria Chagoya de Sánchez – 1 August 1990 – Adenosine administration was tested in rats with carbon tetrachloride–induced hepatic fibrosis and was able to partially prevent the enlargement of liver and spleen induced by the toxin. This amelioration of the hepatomegaly was accompanied by a 50% reduction of the liver collagen deposition and preservation of content of glycosaminoglycans. A stimulated hepatic collagenase activity is apparently the mechanism for reduction of collagen accumulation.

Shuhei Nishiguchi, Tetsuo Kuroki, Tadashi Takeda, Shinya Nakajima, Susumu Shiomi, Shuichi Seki, Isao Matsui‐Yuasa, Shuzo Otani, Kenzo Kobayashi – 1 August 1990 – We studied the effects of putrescine on acute liver failure caused in rats by two injections of 1 gm/kg D‐galactosamine. The hepatic polyamine level rose only slightly in the D‐galactosamine–injected rats treated with glucagon and insulin, and [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA increased little; these hormones did not improve the survival rate.

Herbert L. Bonkovsky, Michael Hawkins, Karen Steinberg, Theodore Hersh, John T. Galambos, J. Michael Henderson, William J. Millikan, John R. Galloway – 1 August 1990 – To obtain information on the prevalence and clinical and laboratory correlates of osteopenia in patients with chronic liver disease, we measured bone densities and 30 selected laboratory variables in 133 subjects (70 men, 63 women) with liver disease.

Ava Lobo‐Yeo, Giorgio Senaldi, Bernard Portmann, Alex P. Mowat, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Diego Vergani – 1 August 1990 – Controversy exists regarding major histocompatibility complex antigen expression on hepatocytes. In this study, hepatocyte expression of class I and II major histocompatibility complex antigens was investigated in diseased and normal livers, using indirect immunofluorescent staining of mechanically isolated, viable hepatocytes.

Michiko Nakagawa, Carla Colombo, Kenneth D. R. Setchell – 1 August 1990 – The biliary bile acid composition was determined for patients with cystic fibrosis and associated liver disease before and after the administration of ursodeoxycholic acid (10 to 15 mg/kg body wt/day). Bile acids were analyzed by fast atom bombardment ionizationmass spectrometry, high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry after individual bile acids were separated according to their mode of conjugation using the lipophilic anion exchanger, diethylaminohydroxypropyl Sephadex LH‐20.

Albert Geerts, Detlef Schuppan, Sylvia Lazeroms, Ronald De Zanger, Eddie Wisse – 1 August 1990 – Collagen type I and procollagen type III were localized at the ultrastructural level on ultrathin frozen sections of rat liver by the protein A–gold technique using affinity‐purified primary antibodies. Both collagen type I and procollagen type III were localized on nearly all solitary and bundled fibrils in the space of Disse.

Boris Yoffe, Dennis K. Burns, Harshika S. Bhatt, Burton Combes – 1 August 1990 – Recent studies have demonstrated the presence of hepadnavirus‐related nucleic acids in extrahepatic tissues in various animal models. The prevalence and biological significance of extrahepatic infection in humans remains undetermined.