Johan Högberg, Ulla Stenius – 30 December 2003

Dario Conte, Mirella Fraquelli, Daniele Prati, Alice Colucci, Eliseo Minola – 30 December 2003 – The prevalence and natural course of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was evaluated in 15,250 consecutive pregnant women. The rate of HCV vertical and perinatal transmission was also assessed. The presence of anti‐HCV was tested by means of EIA III and confirmed by recombinant immunoblot assay III.

David L. Thomas – 30 December 2003

Reiko Akagi, Ryo Shimizu, Kazumichi Furuyama, Manfred O. Doss, Shigeru Sassa – 30 December 2003 – Cloning and expression of the defective gene for δ‐aminolevulinate dehydratase (ALAD) from the second of 2 German patients with ALAD deficiency porphyria (ADP), who had been originally reported by Doss et al. in 1979, were performed. Cloning of cDNAs for the defective ALAD were performed using Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV)‐transformed lymphoblastoid cells of the proband, and nucleotide sequences of cloned cDNA were determined. Two separate mutations of ALAD cDNA were identified in each ALAD allele.

Gianluca Perseghin, Vincenzo Mazzaferro, Lucia Piceni Sereni, Enrico Regalia, Stefano Benedini, Elena Bazzigaluppi, Andrea Pulvirenti, Adriana Antonio Silva Leão, Giliola Calori, Raffaele Romito, Dario Baratti, Livio Luzi – 30 December 2003 – Diabetes mellitus frequently complicates cirrhosis but the pathogenic mechanisms are unknown.

Juan Carlos Cutrìn, Alberto Boveris, Barbara Zingaro, Giovanna Corvetti, Giuseppe Poli – 30 December 2003 – Liver ischemia‐reperfusion is characterized by an increased oxygen‐dependent free radical chain‐reaction rate and an increased steady‐state concentration of reactive oxygen species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in situ generation of reactive oxygen species and its relationship with phagocyte activation and recruitment in reperfused rat liver. Rat livers were subjected to 2 hours of selective lobular ischemia and reperfusion for up to 12 hours.

Catherine de Coupade, Raphaëlle Gillet, Myriam Bennoun, Pascale Briand, Françoise Russo‐Marie, Egle Solito – 30 December 2003 – We have used a transgenic animal model, which constitutively develops hepatocarcinoma (Antithrombin III SV40 T large Antigen: ASV), to study the involvement of Annexin 1 (ANX1) in liver regeneration and malignant transformation. Primary hepatocytes isolated from normal mice did not express ANX1. In contrast, ANX1 was strongly expressed in hepatocytes of transgenic mice during constitutive development of hepatocarcinoma.

Salvatore De Vita, Valli De Re, Domenico Sansonno, Dario Sorrentino, Renato La Corte, Barbara Pivetta, Daniela Gasparotto, Vito Racanelli, Alessandra Marzotto, Antonella Labombarda, Annunziata Gloghini, Gianfranco Ferraccioli, Angelo Monteverde, Antonino Carbone, Franco Dammacco, Mauro Boiocchi – 30 December 2003 – The hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been linked to B‐cell lymphoproliferation and autoimmunity, and has been localized in several tissues.

Josep M. Llovet, Margarita Sala, Lluís Castells, Yanette Suarez, Ramon Vilana, Lluís Bianchi, Carmen Ayuso, Víctor Vargas, Joan Rodés, Jordi Bruix – 30 December 2003 – The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to assess the efficacy of interferon alfa–2b (IFN) for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Douglas A. West, Neil H. James, Sabina C. Cosulich, Peter R. Holden, Richard Brindle, Mark Rolfe, Ruth A. Roberts – 30 December 2003 – Peroxisome proliferators (PPs) cause rodent liver enlargement and tumors. In vitro, PPs induce rat and mouse hepatocyte DNA synthesis and suppress apoptosis, a response mimicked by exogenous tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). Here, we determine the role of TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1), TNF receptor 2 (TNFR2), and nuclear factor κ beta (NFκB) in the response of mouse hepatocytes to the PP, nafenopin.