Masahide Oshita, Norio Hayashi, Akinori Kasahara, Hideki Hagiwara, Eiji Mita, Masafumi Naito, Kazuhiro Katayama, Hideyuki Fusamoto, Takenobu Kamada – 1 November 1994 – Hepatitis viruses and alcohol are major causes of liver disease. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of alcohol intake on the replication of hepatitis C virus and the efficacy of interferon therapy. Fiftythree patients who were histologically proved to have chronic hepatitis C were tested.

Karl Ludwig Rost, Herbert Brösicke, Gerhard Heinemeyer, Ivar Roots – 1 November 1994 – Omeprazole induces hepatic cytochrome P‐4501A2. In a previous study this effect was shown to be significant in vivo in 6 poor metabolizers, including 1 intermediate metabolizer, but not in 12 extensive metabolizers of S‐mephenytoin after 7 days of treatment with 40 mg/day omeprazole. In this study, the specificity of the inducing potential of omeprazole was investigated in these volunteers.

Khay‐Lin Teoh, Merrill J. Rowley, Helen Zafirakis, E. Rolland Dickson, Russell H. Wiesner, M. Eric Gershwin, Ian R. Mackay – 1 November 1994 – Sera from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis inhibit the activity of the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. We utilized this effect to develop a simple, miniaturized, semiautomated spectrophotometric assay as a diagnostic aid. The sera studied were from 71 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and 62 other subjects.

Ronald A. Faris, Douglas C. Hixson – 1 November 1994 – In transgenic mice bearing the Simian Virus 40 large T antigen under the control of the human anti‐thrombin III regulatory sequences, a step‐wise progression toward hepatocellular carcinoma is observed. We have used two monoclonal antibodies (A6 and G7) developed against a surface antigen expressed in oval cells from dipin‐treated mice, to analyze the emergence of such preneoplastic populations in the livers of anti‐thrombin III Simian Virus 40 T transgenic mice.

Motoko Sasaki, Yasuni Nakanuma – 1 November 1994 – Expression of mucin core protein of mammary type (MUC‐1 core protein) was investigated in primary hepatic carcinoma (25 cases of cholangiocarcinoma, 15 cases of combined hepatocellular‐cholangiocellular carcinoma and 18 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma) with monoclonal antibody DF3 and a standard avidinbiotin complex method.

Julián Panés, Maria Casadevall, Mercedes Fernández, Josep M. Piqué, Jaume Bosch, Roser Casamitjana, Isabel Cirera, Josep A. Bombí, Josep Terés, Juan Rodés – 1 November 1994 – It has been suggested that estrogen‐progestagen therapy may be useful in preventing bleeding from gastric angiodysplasia, a vascular lesion similar to that described in portal‐hypertensive gastropathy. In this study we assessed the effects of estrogen‐progestagen therapy on gastric microcirculation and systemic and splanchnic hemodynamics in portal‐hypertensive and sham‐operated rats.

Susan F. Dellert, William F. Balistreri – 1 November 1994

Michelle J. Bingham, Harry J. McArdle – 1 October 1994 – We studied copper uptake from copper dihistidine complexes by plasma membrane vesicles isolated from rat liver and compared the data with those for uptake under the same conditions by hepatocytes cultured from rat liver to determine whether membrane vesicles can be used to study copper uptake. Marker enzyme analysis showed a 28‐fold increase in 5′‐nucleotidase activity, a slight increase in endoplasmic reticulum and no contamination with mitochondrial membranes.

Brian G. Harbrecht, Mauricio Di Silvio, A. J. Demetris, Richard L. Simmons, Timothy R. Billiar – 1 October 1994 – Tumor necrosis factor‐alpha is a principal mediator of the pathophysiological effects of endotoxemia and endotoxin shock. Tumor necrosis factor‐α also contributes to the stimulation of nitric oxide synthesis by the induction of the enzyme nitric oxide synthase in a variety of tissues.

Albert D. Min – 1 October 1994