T Fukumoto, T Berg, Y Ku, W O Bechstein, M Knoop, H Lemmens, H Lobeck, U Hopf, P Neuhaus – 1 December 1996 – The pathogenesis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is likely to be associated with viral replication in vivo, but little is known concerning the dynamics of HCV turnover. We performed serial measurements of serum HCV‐RNA levels following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in nine patients with HCV‐positive cirrhosis. Serum HCV‐RNA levels were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction before, immediately after, and for up to 1 month after OLT.

T J Liang – 1 December 1996

T Osada, M Sakamoto, Y Ino, A Iwamatsu, Y Matsuno, T Muto, S Hirohashi – 1 December 1996 – In human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the liver is the major target organ of metastasis, which is known as intrahepatic metastasis. To analyze the mechanism of this metastasis, we established two sublines from the human HCC cell line Li7. Subline Li7HM produced multiple liver metastasis, whereas subline Li7NM never did so after intrasplenic injection into nude mice.

K Taniguchi, T Nonami, A Nakao, A Harada, T Kurokawa, S Sugiyama, N Fujitsuka, Y Shimomura, S M Hutson, R A Harris, H Takagi – 1 December 1996 – The activities of key enzymes in the valine catabolic pathway–branched‐chain aminotransferase, branched‐chain alpha‐keto acid dehydrogenase complex, methacrylyl (MC)‐coenzyme A (CoA) hydratase (crotonase), and 3‐ hydroxyisobutyryl‐CoA (HIB‐CoA) hydrolase–were measured in normal and cirrhotic human livers.

T Aiyama, K Yoshioka, A Okumura, M Takayanagi, K Iwata, T Ishikawa, S Kakumu – 1 December 1996 – Essential mixed cryoglobulinemia is frequently associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, with the formation of HCV antigen/antibody complexes. The hypervariable region (HVR) of the HCV E2/NS1 region is thought to include epitopes for neutralizing antibodies, but it remains uncertain whether cryoglobulins (CGs) contain such antibody‐bound HCV.

T Aihara, S Noguchi, Y Sasaki, S Imaoka – 1 December 1996

J H Teckman, D Qu, D H Perlmutter – 1 December 1996

M Furutani, S Arii, H Higashitsuji, M Mise, M Niwano, T Harada, H Nakayama, M Fukumoto, M Imamura, J Fujita – 1 December 1996 – We identified kan‐1 complementary DNA (cDNA), the sequence of which is identical to bile acid CoA:amino acid N‐acyltransferase (BAT), a liver enzyme that catalyzes the conjugation of bile acids with glycine or taurine. kan‐1(BAT) messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of the resected specimens obtained from 37 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients were studied in an attempt to evaluate prognostic significance in HCC patients after partial hepatectomy.

T de Baere, A Roche, D Elias, P Lasser, C Lagrange, V Bousson – 1 December 1996 – To render hepatectomy feasible in patients with an initially deficient volume of the future remnant liver (FRL), we redistributed portal blood flow rich in hepatotrophic substances toward the FRL. Redistribution was achieved with preoperative portal vein embolization (POPE) feeding the future resected liver. POPE was performed in 31 patients, under fluoroscopic guidance, via a percutaneous access. POPE was well tolerated and surgery was practicable in 24 patients without severe postoperative liver failure.

M Congia, M G Clemente, C Dessi, F Cucca, A P Mazzoleni, F Frau, R Lampis, A Cao, M E Lai, S De Virgiliis – 1 December 1996 – To investigate the factors that may confer susceptibility or protection to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and to HCV‐associated immunological disorders, we designed two studies on 420 Sardinian transfusion‐dependent thalassemia patients followed in our department in Cagliari since 1974. The first one was an epidemiological survey aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HCV infection and HCV‐associated immunological disorders.