Bioluminescence Assays for Bile Acids in the Detection and Follow‐Up of Experimental Liver Injury

Jürgen SchÖLmerich, Marlene Deluca, Mario Chojkier – 1 July 1984 – We evaluated the usefulness of recently developed bioluminescence assays for serum bile acids (BA) in the detection and follow‐up of experimental liver injury. Liver damage was induced in rats by either D‐galactosamine or CC14, and BA were compared to SGPT and aminopyrine breath test (ABT). In severe liver injury, following D‐galactosamine administration, all three methods revealed a significant difference from control values. The degree of abnormality was, however, far greater with SGPT and BA than with ABT.

Portacaval Transposition in the Rat: Definition of a Valuable Model for Hepatic Research

Irving S. Benjamin, Calvin J. Ryan, Gert H. C. Engelbrecht, John A. H. Campbell, Rosemaryvan Hoorn‐Hickman, Leslie H. Blumgart – 1 July 1984 – Portacaval transposition (PCT) in rats results in a smaller loss of body mass and liver mass than end‐to‐side portacaval shunt (PCS). Detailed studies of liver function, mass and histology were not previously available and have been undertaken in two different strains of growing rat in order to define the value of this model. PCT rats gained weight normally, while only 50% of PCS rats regained their preoperative weight by the tenth week.

Conjugation and Maximal Biliary Excretion of Bilirubin in the Rat During Pregnancy and Lactation and During Estroprogestogen Treatment

Maurizio Muraca, Roger Leyten, Johan Fevery – 1 July 1984 – Hepatic bilirubin conjugation and excretion were investigated during pregnancy and lactation in the rat. Bilirubin uridine diphosphate‐glucuronyltransferase activity was decreased by 30% in pregnant rats, both when expressed per milligram of protein or as specific activity and per unit of liver weight. Liver size increased during pregnancy, and, as a consequence, total hepatic glucuronyltransferase activity was unchanged.

Possible Defect in the Bile Secretory Apparatus in Arteriohepatic Dysplasia (Alagille's Syndrome): A Review with Observations on the Ultrastructure of Liver

Pedro Valencia‐Mayoral, James Weber, Ernest Cutz, Vernon D. Edwards, M. James Phillips – 1 July 1984 – Ultrastructural observations on 12 liver biopsies from 10 patients with arteriohepatic dysplasia syndrome (Alagille's syndrome) are reported. The electron microscopic changes in the liver in this condition are different from those seen in other forms of chronic intra‐ and extrahepatic cholestasis. In particular, the bile canalicular and pericanalicular changes classically observed in cholestasis are infrequently seen.

Hepatitis B Virus Replication in Southern African Blacks with HBsAg‐Positive Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Ernest Song, Geoffrey M. Dusheiko, Sheila Bowyer, Michael C. Kew – 1 July 1984 – Sera from 106 southern African blacks with hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatitis B surface antigenemia (HBsAg) were tested for hepatitis B viral DNA (HBV‐DNA) activity, HBV‐DNA polymerase concentrations, and HBV e antigen (HBeAg) and antibody (anti‐HBe) to investigate the state of viral replication in these patients.

Transmission of Duck Hepatitis B Virus from Chinese Carrier Ducks to Japanese Ducklings: A Study of Viral DNA in Serum and Tissue

Masao Omata, Osamu Yokosuka, Fumio Imazeki, Yasuhisa Matsuyama, Katsuo Uchiumi, Yoshimi Ito, Junko Mori, Kunio Okuda – 1 July 1984 – Human hepatitis B‐like viruses have been found in several animal species, including Chinese ducks. Sera from Chinese carrier ducks which were positive for duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) were inoculated in 33 Japanese one‐day‐old ducklings. The same sera were inoculated in four 3‐week‐old ducklings, and three 3‐month‐oId ducks. Ten uninoculated ducklings served as controls.

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