J. Donald OSTROW, Lillian Celic – 1 September 1984 – Bilirubin is a linear tetrapyrrole whose conformation is affected by internal hydrogen bonds formed between the carboxyl side chains and dipyrromethenone rings. Structural variations include: constitutional isomerism of the vinyl or carboxyethyl side chains, geometric isomerism of the methene bridges, tautomerism of the lactam groups, conformational rotations about the central methylene bridge and ionization of one or both carboxyl groups. Aggregation of the dianion into dimers and multimers may occur.

Christine E. Bear, Steven M. Strasberg – 1 September 1984 – A major limitation in understanding bile formation has been technical. The liver and ductular epithelium are relatively inaccessible, necessitating indirect techniques of uncertain validity. This is well seen in attempts to define the role of electrolyte secretion in bile. It is widely agreed that bile salts stimulate a component of canalicular flow and that inorganic electrolyte secretion is stimulated by bile salts. The choleretic efficiency of a bile salt is directly related to the magnitude of the electrolyte effect.

Leon Schiff – 1 September 1984

Mauro Pirovino, Eva Lydick, Peter J. Grob, Stephan Arrenbrecht, Josef Altorfer, Martin Schmid – 1 September 1984 – Patients with cirrhosis have an increased risk of dying from pneumococcal pneumonia. Their immunological response to pneumococcal vaccination is not known. We compared the antibody response to challenge with a 14‐valent purified pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in 15 patients with biopsy‐proven alcoholic liver cirrhosis, 10 healthy volunteers and 10 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Lorenz Theilmann, Yacov R. Stollman, Irwin M. Arias, Allan W. Wolkoff – 1 September 1984 – Bilirubin and other organic anions are transported in serum avidly bound to albumin from which they are extracted and transferred into the hepatocyte where they bind to cytosolic proteins. Two abundant organic anion binding proteins, ligandin and Z‐protein, were previously purified from liver cytosol and characterized.

Clemens Schiessel, Claudia Forsthove, Dietrich Keppler – 1 September 1984 – The hepatic uptake of45calcium (45Ca) was studied in rats after administration of D‐galactosamine (3 mmoles per kg, i.v.). In contrast to measurements of the hepatic calcium content, 45Ca uptake served as a dynamic rather than a static indicator of calcium homeostasis during the transition from reversible to irreversible liver injury which occurs between 3 and 4 hr after injection of the hepatotoxin.

Jean‐Marc Begue, Christiane Guguen‐Guillouzo, Nicole Pasdeloup, Andre Guillouzo – 1 September 1984 – The cytochrome P‐450 content promptly fell in adult rat hepatocytes cultured in conventional conditions whereas no obvious change was detected over a 10‐day period when these cells were co‐cultured with another rat liver epithelial cell type. A concomitant maintenance of the amino‐pyrine N‐demethylase activity and a high aflatoxin B1‐induced cytotoxicity was observed, and addition of phenobarbital to the culture medium produced about a 2‐fold increase in cytochrome P‐450 level.

Alain Frei, Arthur Zimmermann, Kurt Weigand – 1 September 1984 – To evaluate the diagnostic significance of the collagen Type III (Col 1–3) JV‐terminal propeptide of procollagen Type III, with respect to activity and degree of liver fibrosis, Col 1–3 serum concentrations were measured in 111 patients with chronic liver diseases and in 60 patients were correlated with liver histology and morphometry. Col 1–3 was measured by a specific radioimmunoassay. Biopsies were read without knowledge of diagnosis.

Henry W. Kao, Mary Ashcavai, Allan G. Redeker – 1 September 1984 – Hepatitis A IgM antibody (IgM anti‐HAV), detected by commercially available solid‐phase radioimmunoassay, is an accepted marker of acute viral hepatitis A infection. However, persistence of this serological marker far beyond the acute illness and immediate convalescent period has been reported. To determine the persistence of IgM anti‐HAV following clinically manifest acute hepatitis A infection, 59 patients with this diagnosis were followed prospectively until this marker disappeared or persisted for greater than 60 days.

Kurt A. Black, Viravan Virayotha, Thomas R. Tephly – 1 September 1984 – The exhalation of 14CO2 after the administration of [dimethylamino‐14C]aminopyrine to an organism is assumed to reflect the demethylation of aminopyrine by hepatic mixed‐function oxidase activity. The formaldehyde formed as a result of the demethylation of aminopyrine is then sequentially oxidized to formic acid and CO2.