T Niki, P J De Bleser, G Xu, K Van der Berg, E Wisse, A Geerts – 1 June 1996 – Fat‐storing cells are the major producers of extracellular matrix in the liver. A good immunocytochemical marker is, however, still lacking for this cell type. Desmin, frequently used by most investigators, fails to stain many pericentral fat‐storing cells in normal rat liver. The aim of the present study is to evaluate glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) as an alternative marker of fat‐storing cells.

M Moriyama, I Makiyama, M Shiota, K Uesugi, Y Kannan, M Ohta, K Kimura, T Sugano – 1 June 1996 – Ureagenesis from ammonia, alanine, and glutamine in the liver after partial hepatectomy (PH) was determined by using the liver‐perfusion system. The maximum rate of ureagenesis from ammonium chloride (10 mmol/L) in hepatectomized (HX) rats at 24 hours after surgery was obtained in the presence of ornithine, lactate, and pyruvate, and it was almost identical to that in sham‐operated (SO) rats.

C R Leveille‐Webster, J Rogers, I M Arias – 1 June 1996 – The hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor is responsible for rapid clearance of desiaylated glycoproteins from the circulation by receptor‐ mediated endocytosis. Previous in vitro studies in hepatocyte preparations from rats subjected to partial hepatectomy (PH) of 70% to stimulate hepatic regeneration showed decreased asialoglycoprotein (ASGP) receptor binding. We used an ASGP receptor‐targeted hepatic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agent, BMS 180550, to demonstrate similar changes in receptor biology in vivo.

H Takikawa, Y Sugiyama, J C Fernandez‐Checa, J Kuhlenkamp, M Ookhtens, N Kaplowitz – 1 June 1996 – We previously identified that Y′ bile acid binders (3α‐ hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases) interact with bile acids in intact rat hepatocytes using [3β‐3H, C24‐14C]bile acids and that indomethacin, a competitive inhibitor of 3α‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, inhibits 3H‐loss from the C3‐position of bile acids as well as inhibits hepatic bile acid removal and excretion.

L Grande, A Rimola, E Cugat, L Alvarez, J C Garcia‐Valdecasas, P Taurá, J Beltran, J Fuster, A M Lacy, F J González, J Tabet, A Cifuentes, R Rull, C Ramos, J Visa, J Rodés – 1 June 1996 – Although venovenous bypass (VVBP) has been suggested to protect the kidneys during liver transplantation and its systematic use has therefore been recommended, this beneficial effect of VVBP has not been clearly demonstrated.

S B Mustafa, K M Howard, M S Olson – 1 June 1996 – Acute endotoxic shock is accompanied by an increase in the production of nitric oxide (NO) by several different hepatic cell types. Platelet‐activating factor (PAF) is a potent proinflammatory mediator with many pathophysiological actions and, in fact, elevated plasma and tissue levels of PAF are observed in animal models of endotoxic shock. The current study demonstrates that PAF induced nitrite formation, the end product of nitric oxide synthesis, by Kupffer cells in a dose‐ and time‐ dependent manner.

S K Sarin – 1 June 1996

J M Cullen, P L Marion – 1 June 1996 – We examined 95 ground squirrels to compare the histological appearance of liver sections from animals that were chronically infected with ground squirrel hepatitis virus (GSHV) (n = 29), uninfected (n = 42), or had recovered from infection (n = 24). We studied the effects of long‐term infection because these animals had been infected with GSHV for up to 10 years.

T Terada, Y Okada, Y Nakanuma – 1 June 1996 – Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in cancer cell invasion by degrading extracellular matrix proteins. However, little is known about the in situ expression of MMP in human normal livers and primary liver tumors. In this study, we therefore examined the in situ expression of immunoreactive MMP and tissue inhibitors of MMP (TIMP) in 10 normal livers, 11 surgically resected intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas (CCs), and 6 surgically resected hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs).

T de Baère, A Roche, J M Amenabar, C Lagrange, M Ducreux, P Rougier, D Elias, P Lasser, C Patriarche – 1 June 1996 – Our goal was to determine a subset of patients at high risk of developing liver abscesses after local treatment of liver tumors (LTLT) and establish guidelines for the conduct of LTLT in the safest conditions in such patients. Five hundred sixty‐one LTLT, 489 transhepatic arterial chemoembolizations (TAC, 10 hepatic embolizations, and 62 percutaneous intratumor injections (PIT), were retrospectively reviewed for liver parenchyma necrosis and abscess formation.