Desmond J. Farrell, Julie E. Hines, Andrew F. Walls, Peter J. Kelly, Mark K. Bennett, Alastair D. Burt – 1 October 1995 – Mast cells are known to be present in human liver but their distribution and density in normal livers and in chronic liver diseases have not previously been examined. In this study, we quantified mast cell numbers and examined their distribution in percutaneous biopsy specimens from normal livers (n = 8) and in two chronic progressive liver diseases: primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) (n = 40) and alcoholic liver disease (n = 33).

Sarah Shefer, Betsy T. Kren, Gerald Salen, Clifford J. Steer, Lien B. Nguyen, Thomas Chen, G. Stephen Tint, Ashok K. Batta – 1 October 1995 – We examined the effects of feeding deoxycholic acid (1% and 0.4% of diet), alone and in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid, on serum and biliary bile acid concentrations, hepatic morphology, and the activities and steady‐state messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of HMG‐CoA reductase and cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase in the rat.

Yasuhiro Shimizu, Hiroshi Suzuki, Yuji Nimura, Shigemi Onoue, Masato Nagino, Masashi Tanaka, Takayuki Ozawa – 1 October 1995 – We explored the molecular basis of mitochondrial energy production during rat liver regeneration after portal vein ligation. Ligation of the left branch of the portal vein induces an increase in the weight of the nonligated lobe, counterbalancing the reduced weight of the ligated lobe. Using this model, we investigated changes in mitochondrial DNA‐binding proteins, mitochondrial DNA, and mitochondrial messenger RNA (mRNA) in rat hepatocytes of the nonligated lobes.

Anna Ludovica Fracanzani, Silvia Fargion, Riccardo Romano, Dario Conte, Alberto Piperno, Roberta D'Alba, Clara Mandelli, Mirella Fraquelli, Stefania Pacchetti, Mario Braga, Gemino Fiorelli – 1 October 1995 – Clinically, portal hypertension has been considered to be less common and less severe in patients with cirrhosis resulting from iron overload in homozygotes for genetic hemochromatosis than in patients with cirrhosis of other causes.

Gary A. Clawson, Ling Ren, Harriet C. Isom – 1 October 1995 – We have previously identified a multicatalytic protease (MCP) activity associated with the nuclear scaffold (NS) in hepatocytes and fibroblasts. When we used the chloromethylketone protease inhibitor AAPFcmk, which is targeted to chymotrypsinlike protease activity, we observed a dramatic inhibition of transformation of fibroblasts, with effects that were relatively selective for the NS fraction.

Pere Ginès, Xiaomei Li, Jeffrey L. Zamarripa, Susan E. S. Brown, Eric D. Wieder, Toshikazu Nakamura, Phillip S. Guzelian, Robert W. Schrier, Lynn E. Heasley, Raphael A. Nemenoff – 1 October 1995 – The response of rat hepatocytes to hormones and growth factors has been extensively studied with respect to phospholipase regulation and calcium mobilization. However, the mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade which integrates signals from a wide variety of extracellular stimuli has not been examined in these cells.

Cyrille Féray, Didier Samuel, Michèle Gigou, Valérie Paradis, Marie Francoise David, Catherine Lemonnier, Michel Reynès, Henri Bismuth – 1 October 1995 – The aim of this open trial was to assess the efficacy and the safety of interferon (IFN) alfa therapy in liver transplant recipients with chronic active hepatitis caused by hepatitis C virus. In July 1991, among 447 liver recipients regularly observed at our institution, 46 had developed HCV‐related chronic active hepatitis defined by piece meal necrosis.

Matthew Golding, Catherine E. Sarraf, El‐Nasir Lalani, T. V. Anilkumar, Robert J. Edwards, Peter Nagy, Snorri S. Thorgemsson, Malcolm R. Alison – 1 October 1995 – When hepatocyte regeneration after a two‐thirds partial hepatectomy (PH) in rats is blocked by oral gavage of acetylaminofluorene, a proliferation of ductular cells ensues that results in a profusion of neoductules radiating from each portal tract.

Jordi Muntané‐Relat, Jean‐Claude Ourlin, Jacques Domergue, Patrick Maurel – 1 October 1995 – We have investigated the effect of cytokines, including interleukin‐6 (Il‐6), interleukin‐1α (Il‐1α), and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), on the inducible expression of cytochrome P450s (CYP) CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP3A4 in human hepatocytes in primary culture. The ability of these cultures to mimic the acute phase response when stimulated with cytokines was evaluated using immunoblotting to measure the production of albumin, ferritin, fibrinogen, and ceruloplasmin.

Yosuke Morimitsu, David E. Kleiner, Hari S. Conjeevaram, Chu Chieh Hsia, Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, Edward Tabor – 1 October 1995 – The effect of interferon alfa (IFN‐α) therapy on the expression of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF‐α) in the liver during chronic hepatitis B was investigated. Serial liver biopsy specimens were evaluated from 35 patients who had participated in a randomized, controlled trial of recombinant human IFN‐α for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.