Goshi Shiota, Timothy C. Wang, Toshikazu Nakamura, Emmett V. Schmidt – 1 April 1994 – Attention has recently been focused on hepatocyte growth factor as a major candidate factor in liver regeneration because it is the most potent known mitogen for hepatocytes in vitro. However, hepatocyte growth factor also displays diverse activities in vitro as scatter factor, as an epithelial morphogen, as a pluripotent mitogen and as a growth inhibitor.

William J. Sandborn, J. Eileen Hay, Michael K. Porayko, Gregory J. Gores, Jeffery L. Steers, Ruud A. F. Krom, Russell H. Wiesner – 1 April 1994 – Twelve consecutive liver transplant recipients with stable allograft function and cyclosporine nephrotoxicity were subjected to cyclosporine withdrawal in an attempt to halt and possibly reverse renal damage.

Elizabeth C. Jazwinska, June W. Halliday, Lawrie W. Powell – 1 April 1994 – Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HFE) is one of the most common inherited disorders with an estimated frequency of homozygous patients of 0.002‐0.0045. The disease is characterized by increased intestinal iron absorption and progressive iron overload. Affected subjects show clinical symptoms of parenchymal organ damage after the third‐fourth decade of life and have a 200‐fold increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hideaki Enzan, Hiromi Himeno, Shinichi Iwamura, Saburo Onishi, Toshiji Saibara, Yasutake Yamamoto, Hiroshi Hara – 1 April 1994 – The purpose of this study is to clarify the morphological characteristics and functional significance of the perisinusoidal stromal cells in hepatocellular carcinoma. The liver specimens surgically resected from 24 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were studied by electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibodies against α‐smooth muscle actin, vimentin and desmin.

1 April 1994

Khay‐Lin Teoh, Ian R. Mackay, Merrill J. Rowley, Shelley P. M. Fussey – 1 April 1994 – Primary biliary cirrhosis is a chronic autoimmune disease in which serum autoantibodies against the mitochondrial 2‐oxo acid dehydrogenase enzyme complexes (M2 antibodies) are regularly present. Molecular mimicry of host proteins by bacterial counterparts is a suggested explanation for the origin of these autoantibodies.

Steven N. Lichtman, Jian Wang, John H. Schwab, John J. Lemasters – 1 April 1994 – Endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide) is a cell wall polymer from gram‐negative bacteria that stimulates Kupffer cell release of cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor‐α and interleukin‐1. Another bacterial cell wall polymer in both gram‐negative and gram‐positive organisms is peptidoglycan‐polysaccharide. Lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan‐polysaccharide exist together in the intestinal lumen and can cross the intestinal mucosa, enter the portal vein and activate Kupffer cells.

Stuart Bloom, Ken Fleming, Roger Chapman, James Neuberger, Stefan Hubscher – 1 April 1994 – We examined the expression of blood group antigens of the ABO, Lewis and Kell antigen systems using monoclonal antibodies and immunohistochemical study on 42 liver allograft specimens from 33 patients who underwent liver transplantation between 1986 and 1991 to learn whether altered blood group antigen expression might have a bearing on the immunopathogenesis of transplant rejection.

Jaw‐Ching Wu, Chih‐Li Chen, Ming‐Chih Hou, Trong‐Zong Chen, Shou‐Dong Lee, Kwang‐Juei Lo – 1 April 1994 – We tested serum samples from 25 fulminant hepatitis and 7 subfulminant hepatitis patients for hepatitis A, B, C, D and E viral markers and nucleic acids by means of polymerase chain reaction to determine the role of each virus on such catastrophic events in an area endemic for hepatitis B.

Santosh Man Shrestha, Fumio Tsuda, Hiroaki Okamoto, Hajime Tokita, Minoru Horikita, Takeshi Tanaka, Yuzo Miyakawa, Makoto Mayumi – 1 April 1994 – A total of 145 patients with chronic liver disease, including 20 with chronic hepatitis, 63 with cirrhosis and 62 with primary hepatocellular carcinoma from Nepal were tested for markers of hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus infection. HBsAg was detected in 57 (39%) and hepatitis C virus RNA in 12 (8%); the cause of liver disease was not known in the remaining 76 (52%).