María José Gómez‐Lechón, José Castelli, Isabel Guillén, Enrique o'Connor, Toshikazu Nakamura, Ricardo Fabra, Ramón Trullenque – 1 May 1995 – The effect of recombinant human hepatocyte growth factor (h‐rHGF), a potent mitogen for hepatocytes, was investigated in primary cultures of human hepatocytes. Here, we describe a series of experiments to investigate the kinetics of its mitogenic action, as well as its metabolic effects on cultured human hepatocytes.

C. A. Wilco Snel, K. Sandy Pang, Gerard J. MulderD – 1 May 1995 – The relation between the rate of glutathione (GSH) conjugation and hepatic GSH content was studied in the rat in vivo and the in situ single‐pass‐perfused rat liver preparation with bromosulfophthalein (BSP) as the model substrate. The biliary excretion of the BSP‐GSH conjugate and the hepatic GSH content were monitored simultaneously during intravenous infusions with BSP in the rat in vivo, and during liver perfusions with BSP‐containing perfusion medium.

David E. J. Jones, Oliver F. W. James, Margaret F. Bassendine – 1 May 1995 – Background/Aims: A double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) was conducted in 180 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) to define the efficacy and safety of UDCA. Efficacy was assessed by time to treatment failure defined as death; liver transplantation; histological progression; development of varices, ascites, or encephalopathy; doubling of total serum bilirubin levels; progression of fatigue or pruritus; drug toxicity; or voluntary withdrawal.

John Devlin, Peter Donaldson, Bernard Portmann, Nigel Heaton, Kai‐Chah Tan, Roger Williams – 1 May 1995

Taketoshi Suehiro, Mitsuo Shimada, Takashi Matsumata, Akinobu Taketomi, Kazuharu Yamamoto, Keizo Sugimachi – 1 May 1995 – Thrombomodulin (TM) converts thrombin from procoagulant into anticoagulant protein to activate protein C. Thrombin also plays an important role in the metastatic process of cancer cells. We performed an immunohistochemical and clinicopathological study of TM in 141 cases with resected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) measuring less than 6 cm in diameter. Twenty‐five specimens (17.73%) stained positive for TM. TM was found in the cytoplasm and surface of cancer cells.

Per Stå, Ulrika Broomé, Annika Scheynius, Ragnar Befrits, Rolf Hultcrantz – 1 May 1995 – The mechanisms underlying iron‐induced liver fibrogenesis in patients with genetic hemochromatosis are poorly understood. We studied signs of Kupffer cell activation and inflammatory responses in liver biopsy specimens obtained from 15 patients with untreated and six patients with treated hemochromatosis. Immunohisto‐chemistry was performed on 11 of the untreated and all treated patients. Three of the untreated patients (20%) had cirrhosis and eight (53%) had fibrosis.

Drew E. Cressman, Robert H. Diamond, Rebecca Taub – 1 May 1995 – Liver regeneration in response to partial hepatectomy is a physiological growth response observed in the intact animal. Understanding the early signals that trigger liver regeneration is of vital importance to understand the liver's response to injury.

Massimo Pkimignani, Bruno Andreoni, Luca Carpinelli, Alfonso Capria, Gabriele Rocchi, Ivano Lorenzini, Carlo Staudacher, Luigi Beretta, Roberta Motta, Roberto DeFranchis – 1 May 1995 – Because of its ability to decrease portal pressure, azygos blood flow, and postprandial splanchnic hyperemia, octreotide administration could be effective in reducing early rebleeding in patients undergoing endoscopic variceal sclerotherapy (EVS). We report the results of a trial comparing EVS + octreotide versus EVS alone.

Burckhardt Ringe, Hauke Lang, Karl‐Jürgen Oldhafer, Michael Gebel, Peer Flemming, Axel Georgii, Hans‐Georg Borst, Rudolf Pichlmayr – 1 May 1995 – The optimal treatment of Budd‐Chiari syndrome (BCS) remains an open question. It is still a matter of controversial discussion whether venous decompression or liver transplantation is superior. To elucidate the role and prognosis of both surgical options in our own experience, a consecutive series of 50 patients treated between 1981 and 1993 was retrospectively analyzed.

Tsuneo Kitamura, Sumio Watanabe, Ken‐Ichi Ikejima, Miyoko Hirose, Akihisa Miyazaki, Atsuko Yumoto, Satoko Suzuki, Toshio Yamada, Noriyuki Kitami, Nobuhiro Sato – 1 May 1995 – Cytosolic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) oscillations are postulated to play a critical role in cellular proliferation. By using doublets of normal rats (NR) and those 18 hours after two‐thirds hepatectomy (PHR), we investigated cytosolic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) responses in liver regeneration. Normal rat hepatocyte doublets that retain their bile canaliculi are polarized and well differentiated.