1 December 1994

Kevin Mahaney, Valeria Tedeschi, Geert Maertens, Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, John Vergalla, Jay H. Hoofnagle, Richard Sallie – 1 December 1994 – We examined hepatitis C virus genotypes in 98 American patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection by means of two methods; restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and line probe assay, which is based on type‐specific sequence variations in the 5′ untranslated region. Type 1 was present in 73 patients (74%), type 2 in 15 (15%), type 3 in 6 (6%) and type 4 in 1 (1%).

Ariane Mallat, Anne‐Marie Preaux, Sylvie Blazejewski, Daniel Dhumeaux, Jean Rosenbaum, Philippe Mavier – 1 December 1994 – During hepatic fibrogenesis, Ito cells proliferate, acquire a myofibroblastlike phenotype and synthesize increased amounts of extracellular matrix components. In this study, we have assessed the effects of simvastatin, an inhibitor of hydroxy‐methylglutaryl–coenzyme A reductase, on the growth of human myofibroblastlike Ito cells. Cells were grown from explants of normal human liver and characterized by a positive staining for desmin and smooth muscle α‐actin.

Massimo Colombo – 1 December 1994

Allen D. Cooper, Wendy Y. Craig, Takahiro Taniguchi, Gregory T. Everson – 1 December 1994 – Bile salt uptake, synthesis and secretion by the human hepatoma—derived cell line HepG2 were studied. The cells transported and secreted bile salts largely by means of passive mechanisms. The cells synthesized and secreted the normal human primary bile salts. The ratio of cholate to chenodeoxycholate was 1.5:1. The degree of conjugation, about 35%, was lower than normal, and the glycine‐to‐taurine ratio was abnormal (4.5:1). This was not due to amino acid deficiency in the medium.

Yutaka Komatsu, Yasushi Shiratori, Tateo Kawase, Naoaki Hashimoto, Katsuken Han, Shuichiro Shiina, Masayuki Matsumura, Yasuro Niwa, Naoya Kato, Minoru Tada, Yusei Ikeda, Mitsugu Tanaka, Masao Omata – 1 December 1994 – To investigate the role of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in galactosamine‐induced hepatic injury, we injected rats intraperitoneally with antiserum against rat polymorphonuclear leukocytes to deplete circulating neutrophils, then administered galactosamine plus lipopolysaccharide.

Thierry Fournier, Najet Mejdoubi, Dagui Monnet, Geneviève Durand, Dominique Porquet – 1 December 1994 – The serum level of rat α1‐acid glycoprotein is significantly increased by treatment with phenobarbital, and in vivo studies have shown that phenobarbital seems to act mainly at the transcriptional level. To show the direct mediating effect of phenobarbital on α1‐acid glycoprotein gene expression, we investigated the ability of primary cultured rat hepatocytes to respond to in vitro phenobarbital administration.

Soumit K. Basu, Jayanta Roy Chowdhury – 1 December 1994 – The potential of reconstituted Sendai viral envelopes containing only the fusion protein (F‐virosomes) was evaluated for a targeted cytosolic delivery of lysozyme to human hepatoblastoma cells (HepG2) in culture. 125I‐Lysozyme loaded into F‐virosomes was used to monitor its fusion‐mediated transfer to the HepG2 cells. Using fusion assay based on the transfer of water soluble probe, we have demonstrated the existence of aqueous connection between F‐virosomes and target cells.

Guntram Lock, Axel Holstege, Jörgen Schölmerich, Peter Neuhaus – 1 December 1994

Silvia Fargion, Anna Ludovica Fracanzani, Alberto Piperno, Mario Braga, Roberta D'Alba, Guido Ronchi, Gemino Fiorelli – 1 December 1994 – To identify factors that might be useful as prognostic indexes for the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in Italian patients with genetic hemochromatosis, 152 homozygotes were studied prospectively for 1 to 229 mo.