K M Boberg, O Fausa, T Haaland, E Holter, O J Mellbye, A Spurkland, E Schrumpf – 1 June 1996 – Overlapping features between primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) have previously been noted. To assess systematically similarities between these disorders, we have evaluated 114 PSC patients (36 women; 78 men), all confirmed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC), according to a scoring system proposed by The International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group for the diagnosis of AIH.

M Yano, H Kumada, M Kage, K Ikeda, K Shimamatsu, O Inoue, E Hashimoto, J H Lefkowitch, J Ludwig, K Okuda – 1 June 1996 – Most patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) develop chronic hepatitis. Unfortunately, the pathological evolution of this disease over time is not completely understood. We studied 70 HCV‐positive patients, from whom 2 to 10 liver biopsy specimens (mean, 3.9) had been obtained during an interval of 1 to 26 years (mean, 8.8 years).

W F Balistreri, R Grand, J H Hoofnagle, F J Suchy, F C Ryckman, D H Perlmutter, R J Sokol – 1 June 1996 – Biliary atresia (BA) is the end result of a destructive, inflammatory process that affects intra‐ and extrahepatic bile ducts, leading to fibrosis and obliteration of the biliary tract with the development of biliary cirrhosis. It is the commonest cause of chronic cholestasis in infants and children, and therefore is the most frequent indication for liver transplantation in this age group. The disease occurs worldwide, affecting an estimated 1 in 8,000 to 12,000 live births.

Q Xu, R B Scott, D T Tan, E A Shaffer – 1 June 1996 – Impaired gallbladder motility is an established factor in cholesterol gallstone formation. We assessed whether altered small intestinal smooth muscle contractility with slow transit might potentiate gallstone formation by further impeding enterohepatic cycling of bile acids. Ground squirrels were fed a 1% or a trace (controls) cholesterol diet. Small intestinal transit was evaluated from 51Cr distribution in conscious, fasted animals 20 minutes after infusion into the proximal jejunum.

S J Bulera, C A Sattler, H C Pitot – 1 June 1996 – A transgenic rat line carrying the alb‐SV40A transgene has been described by this laboratory. Several cell lines have been established from the livers of two of these rats. One of these cell lines, L37, exhibits a large nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio and a well‐differentiated cytoplasm containing numerous organelles. When L37 cells are placed into culture medium lacking necessary growth factors, cellular proliferation continues for 48 hours after medium change.

K Wadamori, M Oka, N Tokuda, Y Fujikura, S Hazama, T Fukumoto, T Suzuki – 1 June 1996 – We have reported the efficacy of intraarterial‐combined immunochemotherapy including interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To further test this therapy for prevention of intrahepatic recurrence after hepatectomy, the influence of IL‐2 on liver regeneration was examined using mitotic index (MI) and the bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling index (LI) in 70% hepatectomized Donryu rats.

T de Baère, A Roche, J M Amenabar, C Lagrange, M Ducreux, P Rougier, D Elias, P Lasser, C Patriarche – 1 June 1996 – Our goal was to determine a subset of patients at high risk of developing liver abscesses after local treatment of liver tumors (LTLT) and establish guidelines for the conduct of LTLT in the safest conditions in such patients. Five hundred sixty‐one LTLT, 489 transhepatic arterial chemoembolizations (TAC, 10 hepatic embolizations, and 62 percutaneous intratumor injections (PIT), were retrospectively reviewed for liver parenchyma necrosis and abscess formation.

T Terada, Y Okada, Y Nakanuma – 1 June 1996 – Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in cancer cell invasion by degrading extracellular matrix proteins. However, little is known about the in situ expression of MMP in human normal livers and primary liver tumors. In this study, we therefore examined the in situ expression of immunoreactive MMP and tissue inhibitors of MMP (TIMP) in 10 normal livers, 11 surgically resected intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas (CCs), and 6 surgically resected hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs).

J M Cullen, P L Marion – 1 June 1996 – We examined 95 ground squirrels to compare the histological appearance of liver sections from animals that were chronically infected with ground squirrel hepatitis virus (GSHV) (n = 29), uninfected (n = 42), or had recovered from infection (n = 24). We studied the effects of long‐term infection because these animals had been infected with GSHV for up to 10 years.

S K Sarin – 1 June 1996