Impact of interferon alfa‐2b and ribavirin on progression of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Thierry Poynard, John McHutchison, Gary L. Davis, Rafael Esteban‐Mur, Zachary Goodman, Pierre Bedossa, Janice Albrecht – 30 December 2003 – The extent of liver fibrosis is an important prognostic factor in patients infected with hepatitis C virus. Administration of a combination of interferon and ribavirin produces a superior viral clearance response rate than interferon alone. The effect of this combination regimen on hepatic fibrosis has not been established.

Incubation phase of acute hepatitis B in man: Dynamic of cellular immune mechanisms

George J.M. Webster, Stephanie Reignat, Mala K. Maini, Simon A. Whalley, Graham S. Ogg, Abigail King, David Brown, Peter L. Amlot, Roger Williams, Diego Vergani, Geoffrey M. Dusheiko, Antonio Bertoletti – 30 December 2003 – After hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, liver injury and viral control have been thought to result from lysis of infected hepatocytes by virus‐specific cytotoxic T cells. Patients are usually studied only after developing significant liver injury, and so the viral and immune events during the incubation phase of disease have not been defined.

Mucosal immunity and primary biliary cirrhosis: Presence of antimitochondrial antibodies in urine

Atsushi Tanaka, Gregory Nalbandian, Patrick S.C. Leung, Gordon D. Benson, Santiago Munoz, Jorge A. Findor, Andrea D. Branch, Ross L. Coppel, Aftab A. Ansari, M. Eric Gershwin – 30 December 2003 – We have shown that IgA‐class antimitochondrial autoantibodies (AMA) can be detected in the bile and saliva of patients with PBC, suggesting that AMA are secreted into the luminal fluid across bile ducts and salivary glands. These data prompted us to determine whether AMA of the IgA isotype may be transported across other epithelial mucosa.

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans initiate dengue virus infection of hepatocytes

Philip Hilgard, Richard Stockert – 30 December 2003 – Dengue viruses (DEN) cause a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations including potentially life‐threatening conditions such as hemorrhagic shock syndrome and less frequently acute hepatitis with liver failure and encephalopathy. In addition, dengue viruses provide a potential model to understand the initiation of hepatocyte infection by the structurally closely related hepatitis C virus (HCV), because this virus at present cannot be grown in cell culture.

γ‐Glutamyltranspeptidase–deficient knockout mice as a model to study the relationship between glutathione status, mitochondrial function, and cellular function

Yvonne Will, Kay A. Fischer, Robert A. Horton, Rhonda S. Kaetzel, Marda K. Brown, Olaf Hedstrom, Michael W. Lieberman, Donald J. Reed – 30 December 2003 – γ‐Glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT)‐deficient mice (GGT−/−) display chronic glutathione (GSH) deficiency, growth retardation, and die at a young age (<20 weeks). Using livers from these mice, we investigated the relationship between GSH content, especially mitochondrial, and mitochondrial and cellular function.

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